Written By: Greg Johnson
EAST LANSING – Landen Windbacher of Traverse City and Hannah Kim of Troy shot final-round 5-under 66s and it powered each of them to victory in the 18th GAM Junior Stroke Play Championship at Forest Akers East Friday.
Windbacher’s 66 sent him to a playoff with Brendan Morgan of Grand Rapids where he won the boys’ title on the second playoff hole. He chipped from 30 yards and then tapped in for a par 3 at hole No. 11 for his first GAM and junior title of any type.
“That was the best round in my life,” Windbacher said of his 66 that put him at 4-under 139 for the two days. “It was awesome. I’ve been putting in a lot of work, and I’m just glad to get a win.”
Kim, meanwhile, won her second Junior Stroke Play girls’ title, coming from behind and then pulling ahead by two shots in a close battle through the final round with Belen Berishaj of Birmingham.
“This is one of the best rounds I’ve ever played, especially with my putter,” said Kim, who won her first Stroke Play title in 2024 at age 12. “Getting under par a good amount is not an easy feat, so I’m very happy about it.”
Windbacher, who is 15 and will soon be a sophomore at Traverse City West High School, shot 73 in the first round but climbed the leaderboard dramatically with the help of two eagles in his round. He eagled the par 5 sixth hole, reaching in two shots with a booming drive and 180-yard downwind 8-iron to 15 feet. Then at the par 5 15th he came out of the rough with a 7-iron shot from 190 to 10 feet.
“I was a little bit down after I made a double (bogey) early in the round, but I made the two eagles and I knew I was having a good round,” he said. “I was happy to be back in it. I knew I was pretty close and I kept making putts.”
Windbacher said he has improved a lot this summer and works with PGA Professional Scott Wilson at the Bay Meadows Family Golf Center in Traverse City.
“He has put in a lot of time and work with me,” Windbacher said.
Morgan shot a final 69 for his 139, the spot in the playoff and runner-up honors.
Liam Oostveen of Kalamazoo shot 72 for 142 for third place, and Coen Beickman of Rockford, who shot 71, and Crosby Robinson of Traverse City, who shot 74, were next at 143.
Like Windbacher, Kim came from behind to win her girls’ title. She shot a first-round 75 and trailed Berishaj by three shots when the final round started.
Berishaj shot a 71 for 143 and the runner-up spot. Isabelle Duflo of Ada shot 76 for 149 and third place.
Presley Kiehler of South Lyon, who shot 75 for 151, and Dylan Hall of Southfield, who shot 76 for 152, rounded out the top five.
Kim, the 2025 GAM 15-and-under Girls’ Player of the Year, said she didn’t feel confident after a poor warm-up on the practice tee.
“My shots were not the best and then in the round they were not the best, but my putting really saved me,” she said.
Kim, 14 and soon to be a freshman at Troy High School, made seven birdies and two bogeys in her round and birdied two of her last four holes to pull ahead.
The girls’ leaders started their rounds on No. 10 tee and played the front nine coming in. Kim said she got aggressive with a chip shot on the par 3 fourth hole from behind the green and made bogey after missing a 20-foot comeback putt.
“I got a little scared after that and it gets a little nerve-wracking when you are one stroke behind,” she said. “The birdie on No. 6 really helped get me back. I made a putt, like eight feet, that just trickled in.”
She moved in front by two shots at No. 8 with her final birdie, rolling an 18-foot putt into the center of the cup.
“It was my putting all day,” she said.
