BOYS GOLF: Rochester Adams wins first D-I Oakland County crown since ‘93
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter @LocalSportsFans
WATERFORD TWP. — While Dan Picot’s memory wasn’t up to par Wednesday, his technology skills sure came in handy.
When asked the question when was the last time Rochester Adams won a county crown in boys golf, he just whisked up his cell phone and logged onto the school’s golf webpage.
“1993,” smiled the veteran Adams coach. “It’s been a long time.”
Adams, an unranked squad amongst a 24-school field that featured seven state-ranked teams and legions of potential All-State players, pulled a shocker at the prestigious Oakland County Division I Boys Golf Tournament at Pontiac Country Club Wednesday. The Highlanders posted a play-five, count-four team score of 303 to win their first county crown since October, 1993, ending 20.5-year drought.
Adams prevailed on soggy course conditions and through rain over the last few holes.
“I knew we’d have a decent team this year, but didn’t know how good we could be,” said Picot. “I think we picked the right time to start to gel. We have districts and regionals coming up and we gained some confidence that we can compete with a lot of very good teams.”
Led by runner-up Brandon Barrows, a junior who carded 70, Adams made quite a statement as the final three weeks of the season have arrived. Senior Matt Donoghe (77), senior Zach Adams (78) and sophomore Ryan Kauppila (78) aided the Highlanders’ cause.
“People thought that the team we had two years ago or last year were more talented, but I think we showed today what we are capable of,” said Barrows, one of the state’s top juniors. “We have other guys that can shoot in the 70s and when I have a good day, it all helps us out.”
Novi Detroit Catholic Central, the top-ranked team in Division 1 which was missing a couple of key players, compiled a 305 to grab the team runner-up trophy. Farmington, ranked ninth in D-1, was third at 306, while D-1 fifth-ranked Clarkston was fourth (308). Birmingham Brother Rice (312), Novi (312) and D-2 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (312) all tied for fifth, while South Lyon (313) and Oxford (313) shared eighth place. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (314) and D-1 eighth-ranked White Lake Lakeland (314) tied for 10th.
Rochester (D-1 sixth-ranked) and Auburn Hills Oakland Christian (D-4 seventh-ranked) finished back a ways in 14th and 18th, respectively. Only 15 strokes separated the top 14 schools, showcasing the depth and parity of talented teams in the area.
“It’s all mental and between the ears,” smiled Picot. “We can’t dwell on things like (the course conditions and rain). The whole year has been like that. We played through it.”
Novi senior Garret Buckley played through the course and weather conditions to join an elite class to break 70 at the county tournament. Buckley, who played in the D-I County tourney all four years of high school, carded a three-under round of 69 to edge Barrows by a stroke for medalist honors.
“I played well here as a freshman, didn’t play that great as a sophomore and junior, but I came back as a senior and won it,” said Buckley. “Drives and wedges made the difference for me. It was a good day out there for me. A was lot of fun.”
A total of 24 golfers shot 76 or better. Jimmy Ryan of Catholic Central was third at 71, while Cranbrook’s Devin Deogun and Notre Dame Prep’s Jack Zohoury tied for fourth with even-par rounds of 72. John VanNoord of Oakland Christian, Clarkston’s Alex Dice, Lakeland’s Justin Pahl and Troy’s Jimmy Barrett all shot 73 and tied for sixth, while Notre Dame Prep’s Ryan Lesser shot 74 to round out the top 10 on the leaders board.
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