Kate Brody Wins 2022 Miss Golf Michigan
By Tom Lang
The morning after being named Miss Golf, Kate Brody was being her normal teenager self – babysitting.
As ‘normal’ as that sounds for earning pocket money, there was not much normal about Brody’s high school golf senior season. She may have broken the mold.
Miss Golf.
Second D1 state title in three years – 2020 and 2022.
Course record 62 at The Fortress in Frankenmuth.
Won 10 of 11 invitationals (18 holes)
No. 1 this season in Michigan in birdies and eagles made (47 and 6, respectively)
Saginaw Valley League MVP (all four years).
Scoring average at 69.2 for the 11 invitationals.
The latter should easily end up being a state record too. In my 30 years covering prep golf for the Detroit Free Press, I don’t recall any girl averaging under par 72, or even close.
“It was just a great way to end my season,” Brody told me. “It gives me a lot of confidence going into (college, at Wisconsin) and I’m just very happy I was able to get this award. I accomplished everything I hoped for in my high school career.
“I don’t know if I have fully processed it yet. Maybe when I get the actual trophy it will seem a little more real. But getting the news the other night, I was so excited.”
It was not lost on Brody that many people were expecting her to earn the award, even to the point it added some enormity to her final high school season.
“There definitely was a lot of pressure, not so much at the beginning of the season because I knew what I wanted to accomplish, but I didn’t expect it,” she said. “Then I keep playing well and I was having a great season that by the time it was almost state finals time, I felt pressure to get it done because I feel like a lot of people were expecting me to win and expecting me to get Miss Golf, and I just didn’t want to let anyone down, and most importantly I didn’t want to let myself down.”
The state finals weekend was a huge celebration for all the Brody’s. The family watched Kate win the state title on Saturday, Oct. 15, and the next day watched her mom, Jenn, be inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.
“It was really awesome; I was really happy for her,” the younger Brody said. “It was a really special day, special weekend, just a lot of good things were happening. I’m not sure we can top that (weekend).”
All State Super Team:
Kate Brody Grand Blanc Sr.
Macie Elzinga Byron Center Jr.
Elise Fennell East Kentwood Jr.
Jessica Jolly Rockford Jr.
Alena Li Okemos Soph.
Mia Melendez AA Greenhills Soph.
Lauren Timpf Macomb Lutheran North Jr.
Grace Wang Rochester Adams Sr.
State Finals Results, 36-holes, Top 3 finishers:
Div. 1
Rochester Adams (312-317-629)
Brighton (327-349-676)
Rochester (334-347-681)
Kate Brody, Grand Blanc (73-72-145)
Elise Fennell, East Kentwood (76-70-146)
Grace Wang, Rochester Adams (72-77-149)
Div. 2
Farmington Hills Mercy (343-341-684)
South Lyon (359-352-711)
GR Forest Hills Northern (367-356-723)
Maci Elzinga, Byron Center (72-76-148)
Gabriella Tapp, South Lyon (73-80-153)
Sydney Dausman, Haslett (76-81-157)
Div. 3
Macomb Lutheran North (336-332-668)
Bl. Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (336-338-674)
Grosse Ile (339-338-677)
Lauren Timpf, Lutheran North (72-70-142)
Lily Bargamian, Grosse Ile (75-74-149)
Hannah Robinson, Charlotte (75-75-150)
Div. 4
Jackson Lumen Christi (345-343-688)
Adrian Lenawee Christian (358-353-711)
Lansing Catholic (363-352-715)
Mia Melendez, AA Greenhills (72-77-149)
Logan Bentley, Brooklyn Columbia Central (78-72-150)
Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis (72-79-151)
