Written By: Greg Johnson
EAST LANSING – Lilo Tsai of Ann Arbor, the surprising 12-year-old stroke play medalist and top seed, Saisha Patil of Okemos, the runner-up a year ago, Sixtine Charnelet of Bloomfield Hills and McKenzie Stevens of Northville make up the final four in the 48th Michigan Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship.
The four golfers, with ages spanning 12 to 16, each won two matches Wednesday at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West Course and will square off in semifinal matches Thursday morning. The winners of those matches, Tsai vs. Patil and Charnelet vs. Stevens, will meet in the afternoon for the championship.
“My mom told me she wanted me to lose because she didn’t want to get up early tomorrow, and that’s when I quit talking to her,” quipped Tsai after she held off Alivia Offer of Ada, 1-up in a quarterfinal match, and topped Sophia McCollum of Twin Lake 3 and 1 in the morning round of 16.
“Match play is fun but it’s very different than stroke play. I thought it would be the same, but it’s very different. It was tough. I still had to make a six-footer on the last hole to win.”
Patil topped Cameron Baker of Novi, last year’s 15-and-under champion, 3 and 1 in the afternoon quarterfinal after turning back Emanuella Micakovic of Washington Township 5 and 4 in the round of 16.
Patil, who is 15 and lost in the title match a year ago to champion Alena Li of Okemos, said getting back to the finals is her goal, but she has learned it takes a lot of work to make it happen.
“I felt I didn’t have my game in stroke play because I left a lot of putts out there but today in match play, I got my putting together,” she said. “More golf to go.”
She was well aware her next opponent is Tsai, the tournament’s hottest golfer and youngest stroke play medalist in tournament history.
“She is a very good golfer,” she said. “I know it will be a hard match. The goal will be like today, try to get a lead and then maintain it. I will need to keep making putts.”
Charnelet earned her spot in the semifinals with a 4 and 3 quarterfinal win over Marissa Monteith of Macomb, and a 2 and 1 win over Anika Srivastava of Okemos in the morning round of 16.
Sixtine, who is 15 and will be 16 on July 16, said she was very happy with her performance. She was in the final four of the 15-and-under division a year ago.
“I feel like I haven’t played my best golf, but I pushed through and didn’t make a lot of errors today,” she said after the quarterfinal win. If I can make a few more putts and just drive it better tomorrow, then I feel I could definitely make it to the final match.”
She said making a lot of pars is a good game plan.
“It’s always nice to make birdies, but you don’t want to rush it too much because on this course you can easily make big mistakes,” she said.
Stevens had to hold off Lillian O’Grady of Grand Rapids for her 1-up quarterfinal win, and topped Megan Guerrera, another Northville golfer, 5 and 4 in the morning semifinal.
She is playing in her second Girls’ Junior and made match play for the first time.
“I’ve been playing well lately, so I expected to do well,” said Stevens, who won a high school regional individual title this spring. “This isn’t my first time playing match play, but I haven’t played much of it at all. I love it though. It’s nerve-wracking at times, but it’s fun.”
Stevens said she made a 12-foot birdie putt after a 7-iron tee shot on the par 3 No. 10 that gave her the lead and momentum against O’Grady.
“(Lillian) is such a good player, and she just kept fighting,” she said. “That’s what I have to do tomorrow.”
The final four in the 15-and-under division – Hannah Kim of Troy, Isabelle Duflo of Ada, Belen Berishaj of Birmingham and Eleanor O’Grady of Grand Rapids – will also play semifinal matches in the morning with the winners moving on to the final match in the afternoon. That division has an eight-golfer bracket and played just one round of matches Wednesday.
Kim, 13 and the runner-up in the division a year ago, earned her final four spot with a 7 and 6 win over Presley Kiehler of South Lyon. She will meet Duflo, who is 15 and earned her semifinal spot with a 3 and 2 win over Abigail Ngo of Commerce Township.
Belen Berishaj of Birmingham, who is 13, made the semifinals with a 1-up win over Victoria TheinAn McCulloch of Shelby Township. She will meet O’Grady, who is 15, in the semifinals. O’Grady held off Bomin Jung of Novi, 1-up, to earn her spot.
