Written By: Greg Johnson
YPSILANTI – Alena Li of Okemos adjusted to the green speeds at Washtenaw Golf Club after struggling in the first round and rallied to repeat as overall champion in the Second GAM Girls Championship Sunday.
“I had a lot of three-putts (Saturday) because I wasn’t very confident with the speed of the greens, but that was something I improved on today by making a lot of the short par putts,” she said after carding a final-round 2-over 74 for 153.
“It’s so cool and really an honor to be able to win this tournament again. It’s one I enjoy a lot, and I also love this course. It’s a lot of fun to play here. I just had to get the speed of the greens right. I haven’t practice on greens as fast as these before.”
Li, a 17-year-old senior at Okemos High School, won by three shots over Lillian O’Grady of Grand Rapids, who led after the first round with a 74 but struggled on Sunday with an 82 for a final 156 total.
Chaille Payne of Spring Lake, who shot 79 for 161, Copelin Okrangley of Alto, who shot 79 for 162, and Isabella Michetti of Ann Arbor, who shot 77 for 166, rounded out the top five.
Another champion was crowned in the 15-and-under division.
Cameron Baker of Novi shot a closing 73 for 147 and won the division by nine shots. It was her first GAM tournament win, and she closed it out with a dramatic 30-foot birdie putt from the back of the green at No. 18.
“I feel great because it is so amazing to play out here with all these girls and Washtenaw is such a fun course,” said the 14-year-old freshman at Northville High School. “My short game has been really good. It saved me a lot of times and my driver has been great too. I just kind of kept it solid out there today, stayed calm, stayed positive, and hit one shot at a time.”
Hannah Kim of Troy shot a final 79 for 156 and second place in the 15-and-under division. Belen Berishaj of Birmingham, who shot 77 for 158, Paige Radebach of Webberville, who shot 79 for 160, and Emanuella Micakovic of Washington Township, who shot 77 for 160, rounded out the top five.
Li, the 2024 GAM Girls’ Player of the Year, said a couple of key birdies on the back nine made it possible for her to pull away from O’Grady in the chase for the overall title.
“I made a birdie on 12 with a 15-footer, which was the first longer putt that I made all weekend,” she said. “That gave me momentum and then on 14, the other par 3, I hit it in there about three feet and made birdie. Those shots were important and gave me the confidence to finish it out.”
Li will graduate this spring from Okemos and plans to attend the University of Michigan and study computer science. She is planning a full summer of competition and hopes to play club golf while in college.
The championship kicked off the tournament season. It was started a year ago as part of a Golf Association of Michigan effort to offer a tournament for junior girls and boys on dates opposite their high school seasons. The championship replaced the GAM Junior Kickoff tournament, which previously hosted the competition for boys and girls to start the tournament season. The GAM Boys’ Championship will also be played at Washtenaw on July 29-30.
