Takeaways from the Randy Wise Junior Open

1. Rick Slaight and his staff did a tremendous job in hosting the Randy Wise Junior Open. The course was immaculate and both he and his club members and superintendent rolled out the red carpet to host the event. Not sure if Spring Meadows will host the tournament next year as Warwick Hills Country Club is hosting the ally challenge the next three years and rumor is Flint GC is in the mix.

2. Michaela Morard from Huntsville, Alabama is really quite a talent. Entering her junior year of high school, this Alabama beauty has already won five times on the AJGA circuit and is a threat to win any tournament she enters and that includes the Invitationals. She is ranked number 9 in the Rolex rankings. In her first competitive round at Spring Meadows CC, she broke the course record of 68 by a shot and took it from all people, LPGA player Morgan Pressel. Roll Tide!

3. Michigan girls swipe six of the top 17 spots in the tournament including second and third place.
Ariel Chang of Macomb Twp. and Nicole Whatley (MSU verbal commit) of Northville did southeast Michigan proud with strong finishes in the tournament. Chang put together rounds of 73-71-74 for a two over 218 in the tournament. Whatley tuned up Spring Meadows with scores of 75-69-75 for a three over 219. These are all very nice young ladies and its great to root for all of the girls division.

4. Noah Kolar of Grand Rapid's Michigan won the boys division with an even par 216 for the three days of the tournament. This young man will be a senior this year and has been getting feelers from colleges throughout the state of Michigan but has no offers. Young man, update your resume because that's about to change.

5. Like the girls, Michigan area boys did themselves proud sweeping the top three spots. This rarely happens in this tournament but Michigan junior golf should feel proud of their efforts. Coalter Smith of Grosse Pointe Farms (Wisconsin commit) with 74-71-72 for a one-over 217. In a second place tie is Nick Krueger of Spring Lake Michigan who finished with the same score.

5. The future of the Randy Wise Junior Open. Randy said himself that he ponders his commitment from year to year.  Most people do not realize that while he does not put in prize money, a good amount of cash goes into merchandise, logistics and even  an ambulance that is on standby in the parking lot. There is no way I know all that goes into this but Randy said he does it for the kids as he is very impressed with the way they conduct themselves as people and between the ropes.

6. My own future covering the AJGA. I will need a sponsor for the week. I spend three-four days volunteering to cover this event with video, stories for Detroit Sports Media and this blog. I'm cost effective and worth it. I also use my drone for video pieces that are edited into the stories.