GIRLS GOLF: Chan savors individual state championship
Junior laments Cranbrook Kingswood's near miss at state title
By MARK SPEZIA
For The Oakland Press
A second state title next season isn't out of the question for Cordelia Chan. (Submitted photo)
It’s difficult to fathom now, but there was a time when Cordelia Chan was not sure if golf was going to be her thing.
The Cranbrook Kingswod junior has set herself up to make history next
season when she could become the first Oakland County golfer to win two
consecutive individual state championships, but did not take an
immediate liking to the links when her father introduced her to the
sport.
“I started when I was probably about seven years old when my dad
(Donald) starting taking me out to the course and showing me things
because he is such a big golf fan,” Chan recalled. “I remember not
liking it very much and not really wanting to go. I almost wanted to cry
sometimes because I wanted to be doing something else, but by the time I
was about 11 that changed and I started to like playing.”
What changed?
“I think it was that I started to make some good shots and loved that
feeling,” Chan said. “It’s amazing how making some tough shots will
motivate you and keep you coming back to the course.”
Chan made good shots aplenty last weekend in capturing the Division 3
state championship. She was the only golfer in the field to shoot under
80 both rounds under challenging conditions at The Meadows Golf Course
in Allendale, finishing with a 36-hole total of 157 and three strokes
clear of teammate Greer Clausen to become the Cranes’ first state
champion. Only four players at any of the four state tournaments posted a
better final score.
“I had worked on my putting a lot the past few weeks and that really
helped me and I used a driver one club which helped me keep my shots
straight which was really important on that course because of all the
water, bunkers and trees it has, and there was wind to deal with,” said
Chan, who finished second a year ago. “I thought I was playing well
going in and figured it would take two rounds in the 70s to win it and I
was able to do that.”
Doing that proved difficult with all the hazards The Meadows presents in
addition to wet conditions which left standing water on the course. In
fact, only three other golfers in the field shot even one round in the
70s.
“The conditions were not great with the wind and the water on the
course, but Cordelia stayed focused very well and shot two consistent
rounds,” Cranes coach Mark Moyer said. “She has spent a lot of time
working on her putting and it showed. Cordelia saved several strokes
with strong putting in both rounds. It was wonderful to see her and
Greer finish first and second in the state, but Cordelia, especially,
will be the first to say it was really bittersweet.”
That’s because Cranbrook fell painfully short of a team state
championship. After the Cranes and county rival Country Day both
finished with two-day scores of 707, the Yellowjackets were named
champions based on the fifth player’s two-round score.
“At the time, it was really tough for me to be happy about being the
individual state champion because I wanted to lead us to a team
championship,” Chan said. “It was tough to lose the team competition
that way. My teammates were happy for me, but it was hard to enjoy it.”
Moyer, who has watched Chan progress from shooting 191 at the state
tournament as a freshman to 164 last season and 157 this year,
understood.
“Bittersweet is certainly the way to describe it,” he said. “The girls
all played great golf to come back on the second day and tie Country
Day, but it was tough to think about the fact that one stroke here or
there would have won it. That made it hard for a competitor like
Cordelia.”
The state title capped a memorable season for Chan, who lowered her
18-hole scoring average by six strokes to 77, including a personal-best
71 in winning the Troy Invitational. She also shot a personal-best 34
for nine holes in dual-match against Macomb Lutheran North and captured a
regional title. Chan averaged 37.8 in nine-hole competition.
“I think putting improvement led to the better scores for me more than
anything,” said Chan, who has been among Cranbrook’s top two golfers
since her first high school match. “Last year, I was probably taking 39
or 40 putts in every round and this year it was usually between 34-36. I
played in a lot of summer tournaments against strong competition and
read some of Bob Rottella’s books about the mental side of golf which
really helped me stayed poised through each shot.”
Moyer feels Chan has probably done enough to earn a spot on the Michigan
Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association’s nine-member Super Team when
it is announced next month. The team is comprised of the state’s best
golfers in all divisions. Chan was Division 3 first-team All-State a
year ago and honorable mention as a freshman.
"Cordelia was certainly one of the state's top golfers last season, but I
really feel she has progressed to Super Team status this year," Moyer
said. "She just has that dedication to the sport and the hunger to never
stop wanting to improve. She put in a lot of practice rounds starting
in early spring and really worked on her game. Cordelia will probably be
even better next season and will be a great leader for her teammates."
Chan can become only the second Oakland County golfer to win two
individual state championships, joining Birmingham Groves' Suzy Green
(1983 and '85), but hoisting a team state championship trophy is what
will really be fueling her competitive fire.
“We are losing an amazing player in Greer, but other teams are losing
more top seniors, so I think we have a great chance to become state
champions next year,” Chan said. “As captain, I plan to motivate my
teammates to really work hard in the offseason because that will
probably be the difference between winning a state title or not. That’s
the main goal, but winning another individual championship is a big one
too. Hopefully, both will happen.”
