Lorenzo Pinili, Lauren Timpf Win GAM Junior Invitational Titles

By Tom Lang

EAST LANSING – Lorenzo Pinili of Rochester Hills and Brother Rice High School – and Lauren Timpf of Macomb and Lutheran North High School – finished the summer golf season as GAM Junior Invitational champions at Forest Akers West.

Pinili, age 17, won on the first hole of a playoff with Jack Zubkus of Ada. They were tied after regulation play at 1-under 143 with Pinili shooting a closing 73 and Zubkus coming from behind with a 4-under 68. Pinili parred the first playoff hole, No. 18, while Zubkus hit a second shot from a fairway bunker into a pond and couldn’t save par.

In the girls’ competition, Timpf, who soon after turned 15, rallied from behind with a closing 71 for 148 and slipped past Adie Maki of Canton, who shot a 74 for 149. Timpf said back-to-back birdies on holes No. 6 and 7 were critical to the win and she credited improved putting in the second round.

“I found I was focusing too much on the line on the ball and just tried to focus on visualizing a line into the hole,” she said. “That really helped. My putting was a lot better.”