MIDLAND — In a sport like golf, where there’s live scoring updated after each hole, it’s sometimes a good idea to not get glued to watching every hole on the app.
But, sometimes coaches can’t help it. And that was certainly the case for Petoskey girls golf coach Chad Loe late during their Division 2 regional match on Currie West in Midland this week.
“You try not to watch the score, but when it came down to the end, you couldn’t help but watch and pay attention,” Loe said. “I needed to watch to see where I needed to be at the end.”
Things got so tight for Loe’s Petoskey team at the end of regionals with Cadillac that he really could have gone and checked on any of his girls finishing up.
In the end, it came down to just one stroke, with Petoskey claiming its first regional championship in four years after three straight runner-up finishes. With a 353, the Northmen edged Cadillac’s 354.
“It was a hard fought battle and they earned a regional title. They’ve been working hard all year,” Loe said. “I’m just really proud of the girls for how they persevered and stayed focused and kept their eyes on the goal.”
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It’s hard to say it came down to a late hole, as any stroke throughout the day added up to be the true difference, but senior Emma Berg – playing on her birthday – did birdie her final hole, No. 17.
“Throughout the day, the girls made some great shots to keep us in it,” Loe said. “We missed some putts that gave some shots back. So it was like that all day long. It’s hard to say one hole, when it comes down to it.”
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Along with Petoskey and Cadillac qualifying for the Division 2 state finals, Midland carded a 399, just edging out Alpena’s 403.
As close as the team scores were, the battle for the medalist and individual regional title was just as close, with Samantha Vanbrocklin of Cadillac earning the honor in a 76-77 finish over Petoskey’s Riley Barr.
“Riley came through for us big time,” Loe said. “She’s just such a steady player. When she focuses on her target, she comes in very close to the target. That’s what she was doing all day. She was hitting targets and getting putts close. She made a lot of par putts, a couple birdies out there.”
Along with Barr, Berg finished sixth overall with an 89, Sara Hasse was tied for seventh with a 91 and Anna Hasse shot 96. Piper Leidall also shot a 96 for Petoskey.
Loe again saw all of his girls rise to the occasion and competition – with the victory coming as their ninth of the season – while many shot below their averages.
“Four of the girls were under their average and another real close,” Loe added. “You’re playing on someone else’s course, so you never know how they’re going to play and then we’ve been going back and forth with Cadillac all year. You just never know.”
While the state finals isn’t anything new to Petoskey girls golf from previous years, they’ll be heading into this year’s round at The Meadows of Grand Valley State as one of the top teams.
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Across all Division 2 regional tournaments, only five teams (Dexter, 341; Cranbrook, 343; Gull Lake, 345; Mercy, 346; and Forest Hills Northern, 352) shot better than Petoskey this week.
Loe hopes his girls head in confident and focused to the state finals next weekend (Oct. 18-19) and get better throughout a week of practice.
“Anything is possible,” he said. “I tell the boys the same thing. It’s about the process and getting a little better each time out.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey girls golf earns Division 2 regional title in Midland, edges Cadillac
