Written By: Greg Johnson
SPRING LAKE – Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills feels like her golf game is in a good place, and it showed Monday in the first round of the 107th Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship presented by Carl’s Golfland.
The Michigan State University golfer, who missed the 36-hole cut into match play a year ago in the championship, was the only player under par with a 3-under 69 at Spring Lake Country Club.
“When I missed the cut for match play last year it was pretty devastating for me,” she said. “I just felt I was a much better player than that, so this year the mentality is not just get into match play, but go try to win stroke play, go win match play, go win everything and I feel like my game is in a position to go after that.”
Olivia Stoll of Haslett, a Grand Valley State University golfer, and Rachael Krieger of Commerce Township, who has transferred to Grand Valley from Saginaw Valley State University, were tied for second after even-par 72s in the first round.
Recent GAM Women’s Champion, Bridget Boczar of Canton and Oakland University, shot 73 to open, as did Kamryn Shannon, a Ferris State University golfer from Jackson, and two Western Michigan University golfers turned in 74s – Natalie Samdal of Caledonia and Megha Vallabhaneni of Northville.
The field will play another 18 holes of stroke play Tuesday to determine the low 32 scorers who will advance to match play. Match play rounds continue through Friday to determine a champion.
Kennedy, who has three years of eligibility remaining with the Spartans, had five birdies and two bogeys in her round. She said she managed the course well, hit the ball straight off the tee and put her driver away on several of the holes.
“It’s a relatively short course with how I hit my driver, so I put it away when I needed to and got myself in the fairway,” she said. “My irons and wedges were pretty solid and I made the putts that I needed to make. I saved a couple nice pars, hit a couple of wedges really close and just has a real nice round.”
She said getting the top seed for match play by topping the leaderboard in stroke play will be part of the plan for tomorrow.
“It’s always helpful to get the one seed, but you know if I don’t get that done tomorrow, that’s not the end of the tournament,” she said. “I’ll just come back and hopefully play well in match play.”
