Notre Dame Prep puts it all together to pick up regional golf championship
AUBURN HILLS >> For much of the 2019 season, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf coach Mike Erskine has had his hands full trying to piece together a winning lineup.
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate testing has kept his players busy, and in some instances, away from the course. He’s tinkered with a few difference lineups.
“We’ve never really had our top five guys out there, we’ve kind of had a split squad,” Erskine said. “We’ve never really been able to show what we’re capable of.”
On Thursday, he may have figured it all out.
The Fighting Irish had three golfers finish among the top five as they rolled to the Division 2 regional title at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills with a score of 312. Senior Toby Roth shot a 74 and brothers Brian and Eric Marx shot a 77 and 78 to pave the way for Prep.
“With a 74, 77 and 78, those are really good scores for us right now,” said Erkine, who has now won a regional championship in each of his first two years at the school. “This is a group, in my mind, that is capable of playing really good golf. This has been the best we’ve played all year.”
Sophomore Brockton English, the team’s No. 1 golfer, rounded out the team scoring with his round of 83.
Finishing second and third were host Cranbrook and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. By finishing Top-3, the Cranes and Eaglets will join the Irish at the state finals, which will be played at Forest Akers West in East Lansing on June 7-8.
Sophomore Alex Meyer’s 76 paced the Cranes, who fired a team score of 327. Freshman Perry Johnson (82), junior Chris Ley (84) and senior Charlie Eriksen (85) accounted for their team’s total score. St. Mary’s was just one stroke back of Cranbrook. Junior Jack Stanley (78), sophomore Blake Ward (81), senior Steve Latham (82) and sophomore Josh Fisher (87) scored for the Eaglets.
Farmington's Tyler Klimas watches his approach shot hit the 16th green Thursday at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills. Klimas shot a round of 72, which earned him regional medalist honors and a trip to the Division 2 state finals next weekend in East Lansing. (Jason Schmitt – For MediaNews Group)
Farmington, which had the regional medalist, Tyler Klimas, finished fourth overall (331). Klimas, a sophomore, shot a 72 to qualify for the state finals as an individual.
“I was hitting the ball good,” Klimas said. “I was able to put it near the green and then my short game, my chipping and my putting, was just on. I made a lot of clutch putts down the stretch.”
Klimas was 3-over par through his first five holes, but finished 3-under over his last 13 to finish at even-par. Though he was disappointed his entire team fell a little short of qualifying as a group, he had something to cheer about at the end of the day.
His twin brother, Brendan Klimas, was one of three players who competed in a playoff to earn the final two individual qualifying spots. And Brendan came through, parring the par-4 17th hole to qualify for the state finals. He will be joined by Detroit Country Day’s Scott Hanna, who also picked up a par in the playoff.
Rounding out the top 10 teams on Thursday were Country Day (342), Yale (351), Marysville (374), North Branch (377), St. Clair (386) and Auburn Hills Avondale (390).