In the Groove: Allyson Geer Repeats in the 100th MichiganWomen’s Amateur Championship

  LINDEN – Allyson Geer
said she got in a groove, and the groove helped her win a second consecutive
Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship.

  The 17-year-old from
Brighton, who turns 18 Monday, turned back 19-year-old University of Michigan
golfer Emily White of Saline, who turns 20 Monday, 5 and 4 in the championship
match of the 100th edition of the state championship presented by Carl’s
Golfland at Spring Meadows Country Club Friday.

  Despite two rain and
weather delays, Geer reeled off four birdies in the 14 holes she played in the
championship match. She also didn’t miss a single fairway thanks to one tree
knocking her only wayward tee shot back in the fairway, and saved par on the
two greens she missed in regulation.

  “It is nice to get
in a groove,” she said. “I just had a groove going, and my caddie, Nick (Park)
kept helping me stay in the present and play just one shot at a time. We did a
good job of that.”

  Geer, who was the medalist
and top seed while White was the second seed, is the first repeat champion
since Laura Bavaird of Grosse Ile won in 2007 and ’08. Last year she was the
youngest winner in the history of the championship. White, who had never played
in a stroke play or match play event with Geer, said she was impressed.

  “I didn’t’ play my
best, but she played great and she deserved it,” White said. “She was
definitely the better player today. It was very impressive watching her.”

  Geer, who has one
year of home-school remaining, is headed for Michigan State’s women’s golf team
in 2014. She played the first two days of the championship in stroke play
qualifying with MSU coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, and dedicated the win to her
at the end of the trophy ceremony.

  “I want to be the
kind of woman and the kind of golfer she is one day,” Geer said.

  Geer demonstrated
some clear skills. She made a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 2 to go 1-up, took a
2-up lead at No. 7 when White had tree troubles and then reeled off three
consecutive birdies around a rain delay at Nos. 9, 10 and 11. It was a
six-footer for birdie at nine, a 20-footer from the fringe at No. 10 and a
five-footer at the par 5 No. 11 hole that produced he crucial birdies.

  Meanwhile, White played well but couldn’t get
a putt to drop.

  “My lag putting the
second match (Thursday) and this match was just not very good,” she said. “Then
when she made the birdies and I got down, I got aggressive and bad things can
happen sometimes when you get aggressive.”

  Tense, tight
semifinal matches set up the final. Geer had to go the distance to top 17-year-old
Nichole Cox of Empire 1-up in a morning semifinal to get to the championship
match, and White had to go 19 holes to fend off 17-year-old Julia Dean of
Brighton.

  “It means the world
to me to win this again,” Geer said. “It was an amazing week meeting all those
past champions at the 100 years dinner, and playing with coach, and playing so
well today in the championship match. I owe a lot to (caddie Nick Park) because
he mapped out all the greens, and knew the spots I had to hit to for an uphill
putt. I just had to hit the spots.”

-Greg Johnson

 

 

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