Michigan Golf Scene

     When the golfing God’s give you very cold and teeth chattering conditions, you make birdies anyway. That was the mantra of the boys and girls golfing in the AJGA 12-15 all-star tournament at Fieldstone.

In a field of 96 junior players at the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy sponsored all-star event, many of the golfers have gathered from places ranging from Lake Orion to Florida to Colombia (yes that Columbia). Many of the players in this tournament are used to working on their tan lines and putting for eagles whenever possible. While tanning was out, the birdies were there for the leaders.  

   The weather didn’t affect Andy Zhang from Beijing, China and now residing in the Orlando area. He shot a one under par 71 which is good for a tie for second place. “The weather wasn’t great but I’m used to it. Beijing is a cold weather city but I blocked it out,” said Zhang.

It took him several holes to do just that.

     After carding a 40 on the front nine he eagled the 533 yard 10^th hole and nearly eagled two more holes on the back nine and shot a five under par 31.   He is tied for second with Daniel Martinez of Austin, Texas who put together a round of 71 with 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey. “I believe to win the tournament on Sunday I need to put together a solid round but a few more birdies will not hurt,” said Martinez.

Gil Shot 3 Under in His Opening Round

One golfer everyone is shooting at is Tonytaekkun Gil of Markham, Ontario. A young man with a name that could confound even those competing at a spelling bee will need no introduction. His round of 69 included five birdies and two bogeys and he carded a score of three under on the par fours. 

     Bombing the ball off the tee was not a problem as many of the players were hitting the ball 280 or better off the tee. Neither was shot making or scoring. Take Brandon Barrows of Lake Orion who has already earned accolades all over the state and country. On number 13 which is a snaking dogleg left, he drove it over the left side tree line and ended up in the rough about 330 from the tee box. A punch shot and an eight foot birdie gives you an idea of how these juniors hit the golf ball. Despite this, Barrows is in a 16 way tie for 13^th, 7 strokes behind Gil.

  Nick Carlson of Hamilton, has the low score among Michigan based players and finds himself in a four way tie for fourth, only five strokes behind Gil..



Nick Carlson is Five Shots Back

   While it is true you cannot win a tournament on the first day of the event, you can shoot yourself out of it.  Twenty-eight golfers are within seven strokes of Gil including seven golfers from the State. Nikolas Senkowski or Rochester Hills, is in the log jammed group at 76.

The girls may not hit it as far but they sure have game.

Arimoto isNot Used to the Cold Weather But is Going for
 Her Second Consecutive AJGA WIn

     Pre tournament favorite Karen Arimoto of Orlando is the pretournament favorite on the girls side. She did not disappoint as she carded a two over par 74 and leads a tightly packed girls side. Arimoto had two birdies and four bogeys and is 18 holes away from winning her second tournament in a row. She will have to contend with 15 girls who are within seven holes of her first round lead. Landrie Grace of Canton, Ohio is one shot back of Arimoto and finds herself in a two way tie for second with Alyssa Getty of Leamington Ohio. Grace shot an uneven four over par on the front nine but came out on the back nine one under after carding three birdies and two bogeys.

Videos from The Tournament
Brandon Barrows-http://youtu.be/X9px_kcmzpE
Leaderboard Interviews with Karen Arimoto and Daniel Martinez  http://youtu.be/oTrI7EWCyn4
Videos are Also online at the Oakland Press

This 36 hole event concludes tomorrow and the public is welcome. Admission is free.

The Complete Scores are Here
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Boys Division
	Name	Grad	Hometown	Score
1	Tonytaekkun Gil	2016	Markham, Ontario	34-35--69
T2	Daniel Martinez	2017	Austin, Texas	36-35--71
2	Andy Zhang	2016	(China) Reunion, Fla.	40-31--71
T4	Vicente Benitez	2015	Puebla, Mexico	40-34--74
4	Travis Trace	2015	Jacksonville, Fla.	36-38--74
4	Nick Carlson	2015	Hamilton, Mich.	36-38--74
4	Will Grimmer	2015	Cincinnati, Ohio	38-36--74
T8	Ashwin Arasu	2017	Ann Arbor, Mich.	36-39--75
8	Michael Campana	2014	Vermilion, Ohio	36-39--75
8	Spencer Yi	2014	Johns Creek, Ga.	36-39--75
8	Brian Ohr Jr.	2014	Northbrook, Ill.	38-37--75
8	Logan Yanick	2015	Courtenay, British Columbia	36-39--75
T13	Tyler Strafaci	2016	Davie, Fla.	36-40--76
13	Tiger Lee	2015	(Hong Kong) Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla.	39-37--76
13	Luis Gagne	2015	Orlando, Fla.	38-38--76
13	Luis Gerardo Garza	2016	Leon, Mexico	37-39--76
13	Walker Bottomley	2016	Milton, Ga.	37-39--76
13	Liam Warner	2016	Barrington, Ill.	40-36--76
13	Martin Jaramillo	2017	Bradenton, Fla.	36-40--76
13	Trent Wallace	2015	Joliet, Ill.	39-37--76
13	Jake Reilly	2015	Hershey, Pa.	40-36--76
13	Mitchell Meissner	2014	San Antonio, Texas	38-38--76
13	Donnie Trosper	2015	Canton, Mich.	33-43--76
13	Brandon Barrows	2015	Lake Orion, Mich.	40-36--76
13	Christian Harnishfeger	2014	Troy, Mich.	39-37--76
13	Nikolas Senkowski	2015	Rochester Hills, Mich.	40-36--76
13	Spencer Schab	2016	Grand Rapids, Mich.	36-40--76
13	Wilson Furr	2017	Jackson, Miss.	39-37--76
T29	David Baker	2015	Weddington, N.C.	36-41--77
29	Kyle MacDonald	2016	Oakville, Ontario	39-38--77
29	Zach Tracy	2015	Houston, Texas	39-38--77
29	Spencer Ralston	2016	Gainesville, Ga.	37-40--77
29	Samuel Uhland	2015	Jacksonville, Fla.	39-38--77
29	Michael Conforti	2015	Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.	35-42--77
29	Jino Sohn	2015	Chandler, Ariz.	38-39--77
T36	Camilo Mexsen	2016	Durango, Mexico	39-39--78
36	Russell Matos	2016	Lombard, Ill.	38-40--78
36	Jordan Velez	2015	Chicago, Ill.	39-39--78
36	Tyler Pearson	2015	Richmond, Ind.	37-41--78
36	Mason Weld	2015	Helotes, Texas	39-39--78
36	Luke Miller	2015	Venetia, Pa.	38-40--78
36	Ryan Fowler	2015	Warren, Ohio	36-42--78
T43	Tanner Owen	2016	Parkville, Mo.	41-38--79
43	Jace Guthmiller	2015	Yankton, S.D.	39-40--79
43	M. Shabaz Khan	2014	Westerville, Ohio	37-42--79
43	Wesley Day	2014	Ajax, Ontario	38-41--79
43	Daniel Jaramillo	2014	Medellin, Colombia	40-39--79
43	Tim de Silva	2014	Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.	39-40--79
43	Teddy Oitzman	2016	Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.	38-41--79
T50	Brandon Wu	2015	Danville, Calif.	39-41--80
50	Reid Rathburn	2014	Alpharetta, Ga.	41-39--80
50	Sahavas Chalermchaiwat	2014	Hilton Head Island, S.C.	39-41--80
50	Kitwana Ashford	2015	Farmington Hills, Mich.	40-40--80
54	Colin Joseph	2014	Kalamazoo, Mich.	40-41--81
T55	William Voetsch	2015	New Vernon, N.J.	41-41--82
55	Thomas Winters	2015	Marble Falls, Texas	42-40--82
55	Greg Bechtel	2015	The Woodlands, Texas	43-39--82
55	Stephen Wall	2015	Madisonville, La.	42-40--82
55	Thomas Calbi	2017	South Barrington, Ill.	43-39--82
T60	Evaristo Rubio	2015	Garza Garcia NL, Mexico	41-42--83
60	Eduardo Carrete	2016	Howey in the Hills, Fla.	39-44--83
62	William Nottingham	2016	Kingsport, Tenn.	43-41--84
63	Matthew McAdoo	2014	Twinsburg, Ohio	42-43--85
T64	Daniel Wetterich	2015	Cincinnati, Ohio	38-48--86
64	Christian Casingal	2015	charleston, W.Va.	40-46--86
64	Patrick Mills	2015	Tampa, Fla.	41-45--86
67	Brandon Kewalramani	2017	Simi Valley, Calif.	43-45--88
68	Justin Perdue	2015	Dublin, Ohio	43-47--90
69	Garrett deFisser	2017	Gilbert, Ariz.	44-50--94
Girls Division
	Name	Grad	Hometown	Score
1	Karen Arimoto	2014	Howey in the Hills, Fla.	37-37--74
T2	Landrie Grace	2015	Canton, Ohio	40-35--75
2	Alyssa Getty	2015	Leamington, Ontario	40-35--75
T4	Elsa Moberly	2015	Science Hill, Ky.	37-39--76
4	Jillian Hollis	2015	Rocky River, Ohio	37-39--76
T6	Joo Youn Seo	2014	Laguna Niguel, Calif.	37-40--77
6	Nikolette Schroeder	2015	Avon Lake, Ohio	36-41--77
6	Carolyn Markley	2015	Maineville, Ohio	38-39--77
T9	Kaitlyn Papp	2017	San Antonio, Texas	41-37--78
9	Samantha Spencer	2014	Georgetown, Ontario	39-39--78
9	Mai Dechathipat	2015	Howey in the Hills, Fla.	38-40--78
T12	Ailin Li	2015	(China) Windermere, Fla.	38-41--79
12	Erin Harper	2015	Dublin, Ohio	38-41--79
14	Leah Deagle	2014	Gahanna, Ohio	42-39--81
15	Kimberly Liu	2014	San Ramon, Calif.	41-41--82
T16	Divya Manthena	2015	Camarillo, Calif.	40-43--83
16	Riley Rennell	2017	Columbia, Tenn.	43-40--83
18	Anna Grace Lavy	2015	Fayetteville, Ark.	41-43--84
T19	Lauren Waller	2015	Canonsburg, Pa.	43-42--85
19	Haylee Harford	2015	Leavittsburg, Ohio	37-39--76
21	Jacinta Pikunas	2017	Youngstown, Ohio	42-45--87
22	Gianna Furrie	2017	St Charles, Ill.	45-43--88
T23	Samantha Moss	2014	Fenton, Mich.	39-52--91
23	Jennifer Yang	2014	Troy, Mich.	45-46--91
T25	Jordan Wolf	2014	St Charles, Mo.	43-49--92
25	Selina Zeng	2017	Oak Brook, Ill.	45-47--92
27	Elizabeth Barrett	2014	Saint Clair, Mich.	55-58--113

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Shabaz Khan 2014 Westerville, Ohio 37-42--79 43 Wesley Day 2014 Ajax, Ontario 38-41--79 43 Daniel Jaramillo 2014 Medellin, Colombia 40-39--79 43 Tim de Silva 2014 Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 39-40--79 43 Teddy Oitzman 2016 Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. 38-41--79 T50 Brandon Wu 2015 Danville, Calif. 39-41--80 50 Reid Rathburn 2014 Alpharetta, Ga. 41-39--80 50 Sahavas Chalermchaiwat 2014 Hilton Head Island, S.C. 39-41--80 50 Kitwana Ashford 2015 Farmington Hills, Mich. 40-40--80 54 Colin Joseph 2014 Kalamazoo, Mich. 40-41--81 T55 William Voetsch 2015 New Vernon, N.J. 41-41--82 55 Thomas Winters 2015 Marble Falls, Texas 42-40--82 55 Greg Bechtel 2015 The Woodlands, Texas 43-39--82 55 Stephen Wall 2015 Madisonville, La. 42-40--82 55 Thomas Calbi 2017 South Barrington, Ill. 43-39--82 T60 Evaristo Rubio 2015 Garza Garcia NL, Mexico 41-42--83 60 Eduardo Carrete 2016 Howey in the Hills, Fla. 39-44--83 62 William Nottingham 2016 Kingsport, Tenn. 43-41--84 63 Matthew McAdoo 2014 Twinsburg, Ohio 42-43--85 T64 Daniel Wetterich 2015 Cincinnati, Ohio 38-48--86 64 Christian Casingal 2015 charleston, W.Va. 40-46--86 64 Patrick Mills 2015 Tampa, Fla. 41-45--86 67 Brandon Kewalramani 2017 Simi Valley, Calif. 43-45--88 68 Justin Perdue 2015 Dublin, Ohio 43-47--90 69 Garrett deFisser 2017 Gilbert, Ariz. 44-50--94 Girls Division Name Grad Hometown Score 1 Karen Arimoto 2014 Howey in the Hills, Fla. 37-37--74 T2 Landrie Grace 2015 Canton, Ohio 40-35--75 2 Alyssa Getty 2015 Leamington, Ontario 40-35--75 T4 Elsa Moberly 2015 Science Hill, Ky. 37-39--76 4 Jillian Hollis 2015 Rocky River, Ohio 37-39--76 T6 Joo Youn Seo 2014 Laguna Niguel, Calif. 37-40--77 6 Nikolette Schroeder 2015 Avon Lake, Ohio 36-41--77 6 Carolyn Markley 2015 Maineville, Ohio 38-39--77 T9 Kaitlyn Papp 2017 San Antonio, Texas 41-37--78 9 Samantha Spencer 2014 Georgetown, Ontario 39-39--78 9 Mai Dechathipat 2015 Howey in the Hills, Fla. 38-40--78 T12 Ailin Li 2015 (China) Windermere, Fla. 38-41--79 12 Erin Harper 2015 Dublin, Ohio 38-41--79 14 Leah Deagle 2014 Gahanna, Ohio 42-39--81 15 Kimberly Liu 2014 San Ramon, Calif. 41-41--82 T16 Divya Manthena 2015 Camarillo, Calif. 40-43--83 16 Riley Rennell 2017 Columbia, Tenn. 43-40--83 18 Anna Grace Lavy 2015 Fayetteville, Ark. 41-43--84 T19 Lauren Waller 2015 Canonsburg, Pa. 43-42--85 19 Haylee Harford 2015 Leavittsburg, Ohio 37-39--76 21 Jacinta Pikunas 2017 Youngstown, Ohio 42-45--87 22 Gianna Furrie 2017 St Charles, Ill. 45-43--88 T23 Samantha Moss 2014 Fenton, Mich. 39-52--91 23 Jennifer Yang 2014 Troy, Mich. 45-46--91 T25 Jordan Wolf 2014 St Charles, Mo. 43-49--92 25 Selina Zeng 2017 Oak Brook, Ill. 45-47--92 27 Elizabeth Barrett 2014 Saint Clair, Mich. 55-58--113