Adams golf finally in winner’s brackets, claims MHSAA Division 1 Championship

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester Adams High School has finally added a state championship trophy to its collection.

For the first time in school history, Adams took first place in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Girls Golf State Finals Oct. 15 at Bedford Valley Golf Club in Battle Creek.

Northville High School won the last four state championships, with Adams finishing runner-up in 2020 and seventh in 2021.

While the course provided challenges in itself, the weather brought an even bigger challenge to the field of golfers.

“Going into a tournament with 15 mph winds and how cold it was, you really had to change your perception,” senior Grace Wang said.

The conditions didn’t seem to faze Adams, who shot a team score of 629 and finished 47 strokes ahead of second-place Brighton.

It was a proper send-off for the Adams seniors.

“I don’t think you can ask for a better send-off for your seniors than having a league, regionals and state championship,” Adams coach Jeff Kutschman said.

Adams was dominant in the Region 5 Championship at Metamora Country Club Oct. 5, taking first with a team score of 315.

After an impressive showing at regionals, Adams continued to be impressive, holding a 15-stroke lead after day one at the state finals.

While the momentum was in favor of Adams, Kutschman said he had to keep the team focused if they were going to hold off second-place Brighton.

“I told them I entered them into a new golf tournament the next day and that we had to go out again and play, because even with 15 strokes, I know Brighton could make that up because they’re that good of a team,” Kutschman said.

Led by Wang and juniors Katie Fodale and Laura Liu, Adams was unstoppable over the weekend at Bedford Valley.

Fodale, who finished second at regionals in the individual scores, finished fifth at the state finals with a two-round score of 151.

Fodale said her short game was working for her in the tournament.

“I would say the first day it was the putter,” Fodale said. “I was really striking the ball well with the irons, but I made some really long putts.”

Fodale, who was a championship-winning skier last year for Adams as an individual in slalom, brought a veteran presence to the state finals atmosphere alongside Wang.

“They play in so many tournaments over the summer that are championship-type tournaments, and I also believe Katie Fodale, who is also a state champion in skiing, had that experience and knew how to handle that pressure,” Kutschman said.

Wang and Liu, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at regionals, stayed consistent with a top-six finish at the state finals. Liu finished sixth while Wang took third in the individual.

Wang, who is currently committed to play golf at the University of Michigan, said the team had one goal at the beginning of the season.

“In the beginning of the season, we had this big goal of winning states,” Wang said. “We just had to take it tournament by tournament.”

Adams brought back an array of leadership and talent this season with Wang fronting the group, and will now return Fodale and Liu for next season’s run.

“My confidence level is going to be high, but it’s also not going to be given to us; there’s a lot of good golf out there,” Kutschman said.