Written By: Greg Johnson
YPSILANTI – University of Detroit Mercy golf teammates Morgan Jones of Chesterfield and Sadie Kondel of Grand Blanc won a three-hole sudden-death playoff with a dramatic final birdie and took the overall title at the 16th GAM Women’s Four-Ball Championship Tuesday at Washtenaw Golf Club.
Jones and Kondel topped Elizabeth Eberle of Harbor Springs and Bridget Butler of Barrington, IL., a pair of Stetson University (FL) golfers, in the playoff.
A Senior Division Champion was also crowned in the championship with Lori Schlicher of Lewiston and Donna Tepper of Grosse Pointe Park winning a second consecutive title after finishing as the runners-up in 2023 and ’24.
The two title-winning teams will have their names inscribed on the permanent tournament trophy, which is named The Garety -Hiestand Trophy in honor of Michigan Golf Hall of Fame members Joan Garety and Mary Jane Hiestand.
Jones, who made the winning eight-foot birdie putt on hole No. 3, said the win felt amazing, especially because she was playing with a teammate and friend and they both were taking home their first GAM trophies.
“It’s really cool to bring it home, to win, especially for our coaches and everything, too,” Kondel said. “And like being teammates, I think that makes it 100 percent cooler.”
Jones and Kondel and Butler and Eberle each shot 6-under 66 rounds for 11-under 133 totals in regulation play. Butler made a five-foot birdie putt on that duo’s final hole, No. 9, to tie and force the playoff.
Kondel made a sand save par from the front bunker on the final hole of regulation to keep them tied for the lead.
The two teams traded pars on the first two playoff holes, with Kondel making another key par saver from a greenside bunker on No. 2, which sent them to the par 5 third.
Jones said the winning putt was an eight-footer that her teammate helped her read.
“I made some good putts both days; we both did, and that was a great way to finish,” she said. “We teamed up great and kept making birdies.”
Jones, who will be a junior, and Kondel, who will be a sophomore for the Titans, both played in the tournament previously, but with other golfers. They’ve become good friends while competing in college and decided to play as a team.
“I think our games are similar and we both trusted each other enough that it would just be fun and not too difficult,” Kondel said. “We knew if one of us messed up, we wouldn’t get made at each other.”
The duo of Caroline Ellis of Haslett and Leila Raines of Lansing, both assistant coaches with the women’s golf team at Michigan State University, shot a closing 67 for 135, two shots out of the playoff and in third place.
University of Michigan teammates Grace Wang of Rochester Hills and Jaymie Ng of Ann Arbor shot a closing 72 for 139 and fourth place.
In the Senior Division, Tepper and Schlicher didn’t allow for any drama. They shot a second consecutive even-par 72 for 144 and won by six shots.
Terry Delcamp, now of Lady Lake, FL, and Cathy Netter of Monroe shot 74 to close for 150 and second place.
Two teams tied for third place at 156.
Debra Horning of Bloomfield Hills and Lori Rogers of Macomb shot a 76 powered by the shot of the day. Rogers made a hole-in-one on the par 3 ninth hole, knocking in a 131-yard 11-wood shot for the third ace of her golfing life but first in competition.
Also finishing at 156 with a final 79 were Olivia Bayagich of Washington and Jane Kersjes of Plymouth.
