Top 50 Crowns Highland's Brackrog and David Smith

 
      When Gabby Brackrog of Highland was playing on day two of the Top 50 Jr. Tour at Prestwick Village she wasn't sure if she was gaining ground on any of the other leaders. She was in the second to final pairing and had just triple bogeyed the 16th hole. After hitting her 17th tee shot into the sand on the 162-yard par three, she went into a deep sand bunker but for her it was no problem. She blasted out to within a few feet and then promptly made par. At that point she kn"Every swing produces one shot and I kept my mind steady," said Brackrog.ew she was in the game and felt confident her (86-82) might give her a chance to win the tournament. Brackrog has won on the Top 50 Tour before and with the girls MHSAA season coming up, Milford coach Jim Sander must like how Brackrog's game is coming around.

     Both high school and junior golf rarely have live scoreboards so you have to rely on you playing the golf course and hope your best is good enough.

 The opening round leader Veronica Haque of Rochester Hills decided to play the older division rather than the age 12-15 division for the competition and to guarantee playing both days. Her opening round of 82 lead all players by two shots and another steady day and she would be tournament medalist. Unfortunately, on a blazing hot day where the warm wind felt like the devil's breath, she double bogeyed six holes and finished with an 89. Other players who had a chance to catch Haque was Hannah Buzolits whose 84 was good enough for second place after the first day. Her second round became something to build on as the heat took its toll on the players. Her 89 included only four pars on the day as she skidded to a fourth place finish. Lauren Cojei of Novi opened with an 85 but her second round was nearly as consistent but she was many of players who had a problem with the 343 yard par four ninth and left with a carded score of seven. She finished third. Jazmin Haque, sister of Veronica finished 6th (86-92).

From L to R: Veronica Haque, Gabby Brackrog and Lauren Cojai

Troy Tomczak of Fenton Takes a Cut
from the 18th Fairway

      On the boys side, shooting the lowest score after day one gives other golfers a target. Devan Schulert of Kingsville, Ontario and Nick Park of Howell carded opening round 76's and led the tournament by three strokes over Alec Genter of Clarkston and Nick Park of Howell. David Smith of Clarkston who qualified for the Division 4 MHSAA Finals at Forest Akers West as an individual qualifier. Without teammates he was on an island that weekend but with Prestwick Village being his families home course, home cooking was the order. The only thing is the opening round 80 which put him in 5th place, four strokes behind the leaders. Smith (80-70) played par golf on the front nine but the back side belonged to Smith. He birdied the 556 yard par five tenth and then went to two under after a birdie on the 364-yard par four 13th. The course played differently for the winner. "I couldn't hit a green yesterday," said Smith. "Today I had more control over the ball and I was right on line every shot."

Smith with Tomczak (L) and Schulert (R)

Well take that wind.

     He cruised into the clubhouse from there and gave the leaders a posted score to think about. Like Smith, Troy Tomczak of Fenton carded an opening day 80 and his 75 gave him a strong run on the day. Devan Schulert crossed the Windsor border and was solid for 36 holes.  He played to a score of (76-77) and match Smith's two birdies but five bogeys, all on the backside were the difference.                                                                                          

Leaderboard
Division: Boys 16 to 18 Boys 12 to 15 Girls 16 to 18 Girls 12 to 15 Coed 9 to 11 Alumni
	Pos	Total	Player	Hometown	Class	Today	Thru	R1	R2	Strokes
+	1	+24	Brackrog, Gabby	Highland, MI	2014	+10	F	86	82	168
+	2	+27	Haque, Veronica	Rochester Hills, MI	2017	+17	F	82	89	171
+	3	+28	Cojei, Lauren	Novi, MI	2014	+15	F	85	87	172
+	4	+29	Buzolits, Hannah	Plymouth, MI	2013	+17	F	84	89	173
+	5	+30	Koomen, Kathleen	Novi, MI	2012	+14	F	88	86	174
+	6	+34	Haque, Jazmin	Rochester Hills, MI	2013	+20	F	86	92	178

Leaderboard
Division: Boys 16 to 18 Boys 12 to 15 Girls 16 to 18 Girls 12 to 15 Coed 9 to 11 Alumni
	Pos	Total	Player	Hometown	Class	Today	Thru	R1	R2	Strokes
+	1	+6	Smith, David	Highland, MI	2013	-2	F	80	70	150
+	2	+9	Schulert, Devan	Kingsville, Ontario, MI	2014	+5	F	76	77	153
+	3	+11	Tomczak, Troy	Fenton, MI	2014	+3	F	80	75	155
+	4	+13	Park, Nick	Howell, MI	2013	+9	F	76	81	157
+	5	+14	Miller, Patrick	Howell, MI	2012	+7	F	79	79	158
+	6	+16	Lepkowski, Joseph	White Lake, MI	2012	+7	F	81	79	160
+	T7	+18	Craven, Tj	Waterford, MI	2014	+1	F	89	73	162
+	T7	+18	Pierce, Jacob	Livonia, MI	2015	+10	F	80	82	162
+	9	+20	Rybicki, Kyle	White Lake, MI	2013	+7	F	85	79	164
+	10	+22	Genter, Alec	Clarkston, MI	2013	+15	F	79	87	166

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

<>

 

Rank	Mvmt	Player	Hometown	Class	Points	Scoring Average	Events
1	--	Tommy Prato	Dearborn, MI	2012	380.50	79.10	6
2	--	Matt Sherry	Northville, MI	2013	209.50	80.43	4
3	--	Guy Frydenlund	Ann Arbor, MI	2013	207.50	63.11	4
4	--	David Smith	Highland, MI	2013	174.50	64.67	3
5	--	Anthony Jackson II	Detroit, MI	2014	164.50	84.12	4
6	--	Phillip Thomas	Farmington Hills, MI	2012	161.50	88.00	4
T7	--	Alex Wrocklage	Plymouth, MI	2013	160.50	82.20	3
T7	--	Kyle Rybicki	White Lake, MI	2013	160.50	82.00	4
9	--	Troy Tomczak	Fenton, MI	2014	159.50	85.00	3
10	--	Matthew Goldi	Farmington Hills, MI	2014	156.00	81.00	3
11	--	Matt Weddell	Farmington Hills, MI	2013	152.00	84.86	4
12	--	Jack Alli	Clarkston, MI	2013	141.50	67.33	3
13	--	Eric Busa	Rochester Hills, MI	2013	136.00