GAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Mikaela Schulz Is Top Junior Girl

GAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Mikaela Schulz Is Top Junior Girl

  FARMINGTON HILLS – Mikaela Schulz of West Bloomfield sets goals that have more to do with the process than the outcome of playing well.

  “This last year I committed to the process of improving and I think I did that, and I played against good competition all year, too, which only made me better,” she said.

  Schulz, 17, is the 2018 Golf Association of Michigan Junior Girl’s Player of the Year, Kyle Wolfe, director of handicap and competitions, announced today. It’s the second consecutive year she has topped the Junior Girl’s Honor Roll and received the honor.

  “She is a goals-oriented golfer and she has a purpose for every time she goes out to practice or play in tournament,” Wolfe said. “That helps her, and at this level sets her apart and will help her as she moves on to college golf.”

  Schulz, a Bloomfield Hills High School student, is headed to the University of Michigan on a golf scholarship in the fall.

  “I have signed and feel great about it,” she said. “Since I was little, I have been taught to bleed blue. There is a long list of family alums (mother Rachel played golf for Michigan) and we’re all Michigan fans. To get the opportunity to play college golf for Michigan is a great opportunity. I know it’s the perfect place for me to grow as a student and as an athlete.”

   GAM Players of the Year are determined by the GAM Honor Roll points system. Point totals can be found under the Championships tab at gam.org. Over the next few weeks the GAM will announce more Players of the Year in gender and age categories.

  Previously, Alex Scott of Traverse City was named the Men’s Player of the Year, Kerri Parks of Flushing was named the Women’s Player of the Year, Mitch Wilson of Portage was named the Senior Men’s Player of the Year, Julie Massa of Holt was named the Senior Women’s Player of the Year, Mike Fedewa of Canton was named the Super Senior Player of the Year and Bradley Smithson of Grand Rapids was named Junior Boy’s Player of the Year.

  Schulz, a GAM member through Tam O’Shanter Country Club, topped the Honor Roll with 1,290 points.

  Winning the Michigan Junior State Amateur Championship, including being medalist in the stroke play qualifying portion, keyed her season, which also included qualifying for the U.S. Junior Girls in sectional qualifying in Ann Arbor on the University of Michigan Golf Course.

  “Being both the medalist and match play winner in the Michigan Junior Am was very special because it showed I could play at a high level through the week, and then qualifying for  the U.S. Junior at U-of-M was a thrill,” she said. “It was a great summer, and it makes me want to keep working the process so I can have great outcomes like that in the future.”

  Anika Dy of Traverse City West High School, who like Schulz is part of the University of Michigan incoming freshman golf class, finished second on the Honor Roll with 903 points. Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills and Oakland Hills Country Club, the runner-up to Schulz in the Michigan Junior Girls State Amateur, was third with 873 points. Danielle Staskowski of Clarkston and Oakhurst Golf & Country Club (723) and Kay Zubkus of Ada and Egypt Valley Country Club (643) rounded out the top five.

  Schulz, a cousin of LPGA star Morgan Pressel and a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, said the summer of 2019 will feature work on sharpening her short game.

  “All the parts of my game are pretty good, but I want to refine the short game and be sharper around the green,” she said. “As I move up the ranks in competition from junior golf to college, I know how well I do will depend on how well I score. I have to continue to push. Winning the GAM Junior Girl’s Player of the Year two years in a row is a huge honor, and I want to continue to compete for those kind of great honors at higher levels.”

  Wolfe said he expects many more honors ahead for Schulz.

  “She is an extremely hard worker and looks to improve her game and her weaknesses,” he said. “She is also very competitive. She has that desire to finish at the top. She is a great kid, too. She’s an outstanding golfer and an even better person.”

via Greg Johnson