There are a lot of great high school golfers around Michigan, and of course some are better than others.
But in a sport like golf, there is just no way to predict who might end up as an individual state champion. It depends on who happens to have the hot hand during the two-day state finals, and that could be anybody out of a crowded field of talented competitors.
Reeths-Puffer junior Sophia McCollum took a lot of the guesswork out of it this year, however, because she found a level of consistent excellence and extreme confidence over the course of the season, and felt like she was going to win every time she played.
She ended up taking first place in 11 of the 16 events she competed in this season, and her final victory was one that all but a handful of high school golfers only dream of.
McCollum shot a two-day score of 148 and won an MHSAA individual state championship at the Division 2 state finals on Friday and Saturday at the Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek.
Sophia McCollum, who was the Division 2 golf state championship as a junior.
She is only the second R-P girls golfer to win an individual state title. The first was Karina VanDuinen, who won in 2015 as a freshman.
McCollum had two great days on the Bedford Valley course, shooting a 73 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead, then a 75 on Saturday to wrap up the title.
She outdistanced Sixtine Charnalet of Cranbrook Kingswood, who took second place with a 152. Avery Manning of Dexter was third with a 154, while Megan Guerrera of Famington Hills Mercy and Chaille Payne of Forest Hills Northern tied for fourth at 155.
Junior Olivia Ambler, R-P’s other state qualifier, finished in 36th place with a very strong score of 180.
McCollom has been working out with the R-P varsity since the eighth grade, and said she dreamed of being a state champion since then.
McCollum with (from left) R-P Athletic Director Cliff Sandee, Assistant Coach Kevin Howard, Head Coach Matt Pallett.
“Pretty good,” McCollum said calmly, when asked how it felt to be a state champion. “I knew I had the skill to do it. I definitely knew I could win it. I wouldn’t say I expected to win, but I knew I could and felt like I had a really good chance to.
“It was a relief to have it over with. I was happy and felt accomplished, but it was just good to have the stress and pressure over with. I was nervous on the first day, but felt a lot more pressure today, because I started off leading and felt like I had to keep my lead.
“I thought yesterday I was in a good enough place to win, then I started off really well today, and I thought, if I keep this up, I will probably win.”
R-P head coach Matt Pallett was amazed with how consistently McCollum played throughout the event, when a few extended rough spots could have let other talented competitors right back into contention.
“Winning the state finals is not easy,” Pallett said. “There were 108 girls, and you have to be on your ‘A game’ for two straight days and not have any hiccups. She did that and it was awesome to see.
McCollum poses by the final leader board.
“What she accomplished is unbelievable. I am very proud of Sophia for winning a state championship.”
McCollum’s amazing run to the state title was definitely unique, because it defied conventional expectations.
She squeezed into the state finals last year as a sophomore, claiming the last available qualifier spot at regionals, and shot well, finishing with a two-day score of 168 and tying for 17th place.
There was every reason to believe that she would continue to improve this fall, probably make the finals again, and maybe, if she did really well, be a contender for a title.
As Pallett put it, “I definitely saw an All-Stater in her.”
Photo/Joe Lane
But McCollum turned out to be much more than that, far sooner than anyone expected. She has been shooting extremely well all season, starting at the two-day Lober Classic at Crystal Mountain in late August, when she beat out a field of elite competition to win the title.
She got very hot in the last month and never really cooled down. It started when she won R-P’s own Lady Rocket Invitational on Sept. 19, the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tournament (by an amazing 10 shots) on Sept. 23, the tough Gull Lake Blue Devil Invitational on Oct. 1, the O-K Green Conference Championship Tournament on Oct. 2 and an MHSAA Division 2 regional tournament on Oct. 7.
Pallett said he could see the change in his star player early in the season, when McCollum won the Lober Classic.
“To me, the big thing for her has just been that her mental toughness and maturity have really improved,” Pallett said. “She has realized, next shot, next hole, bounce back. I think a big turning point was that two-day event at Crystal Mountain, when she was leading and then closed it out.
"In the past she kind of struggled to finish. That win spring-boarded her to finish matches with confidence this year.”
Photo/Joe Lane
McCollum agreed with her coach about her emotional growth making a huge difference this year.
“This summer I did well in a lot of high school-level tournaments,” she said. “I had a much better attitude, which helps a lot. I don’t really know where that came from. I am just much more of a level person with level emotions.”
McCollum displayed that on hole 2 on Saturday, which was her next-to-last hole of the tournament. She started out in a bad spot, landing her tee-shot behind a pine tree, which could have led to real trouble.
But she calmly chipped out of that spot, landed her third shot on the green, then hit a very nice 10-foot putt to par the hole.
One hole later she was hugging her coaches and parents and celebrating her state title.
“My mom was crying, so that made me cry,” McCollum said with a chuckle, when asked about the happy moments at the end of her triumphant day.