MUSKEGON TWP. - Having two great players on one small team can be a double-edged sword, particularly in an individual achievement sport like golf.
Sometimes both want to play the starring role, egos clash, and the situation gets edgy and uncomfortable.
Luckily Reeths-Puffer standouts Rowan Bluhm and Sophia McCollum seem more than happy with sharing the limelight.
They are close friends who play on a group-oriented team, so they naturally root for each other.
Rowan Bluhm
Both have also had lots of opportunities to shine on their own, which probably helps as well.
All season long, Bluhm and McCollum have rotated at the top of the R-P golf scorecard.
McCollum has had the best score on the team in seven rounds this season. Bluhm has led the Rockets five times.
The cool part is that the one who doesn’t lead the team is usually close behind. They have both earned five medals for placing among the top 10 golfers at tournaments this season. 
Sophia McCollum
Occasionally both are at their best on the same day, like last Friday at Reeths-Puffer’s Lady Rocket Invitational. McCollum shot an 80 and took second place individually while Bluhm fired an 81 and took third.
That helped R-P finish third among 13 teams in the tournament.
The Rockets are excited about the possibility of both shooting great again on Wednesday at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Tournament at the White Lake Golf Club.
R-P won the team championship last year, and if Bluhm and McCollum are clicking, the Rockets could repeat.
Bluhm and McCollum have each won five medals at tournaments this season.
The two team leaders love that idea, and don’t seem to care who shoots the higher score, on Wednesday or any other day, for that matter.
“We always push each other and challenge each other – it’s good, just to have someone out there to motivate you,” Bluhm said. “Having someone out there you can relate to is important. When she has her bad days, I’m there for her, and when I have my bad days, she’s there for me.”
McCollum echoes those sentiments.
“I would definitely say it helps,” McCollum said. “We have a friendly competition. We golf together outside of practice, which makes it fun.
“When one of us has a good round, it feels like the other one wants to perform the same. The competition part of it helps. We both want to do good.”
Two different varsity experiences
Bluhm, a senior, and McCollum, a sophomore, have had very different experiences at the varsity golf level.
After getting off to a good start in a hopeful freshman season, Bluhm was injured and missed a good part of her sophomore campaign.
She bounced back nicely last year and earned All-Conference honors.
This summer she turned her attention almost completely to golf, which was not the case in the past.
The hard work paid off, because she’s shooting better than ever before, and just this week announced that she has accepted a golf scholarship at Albion College.
Bluhm is currently averaging a 42 score for nine-hole rounds and 85 for 18. Her best outing this season was at the O-K Green Midseason Tournament at Grand Valley State University, where she shot a 78 and finished in second place.
Bluhm launches a shot at a recent tournament. Photo/John Willoughby
“I always played travel softball, so that took up the majority of my summers,” Bluhm said. “This year I only played in a tournament or two. Golf was my main focus this summer.”
R-P Coach Matt Pallett has watched Bluhm improve a great deal, particularly this fall.
“Last year Rowan started out a little rough, then became more solid toward the end of the year,” he said. “Early on she was in the hundreds or mid-90s. By the end of the year she was in the low 90s or 80s. This season her best round was a 78.
“She really committed to golf over the summer. I think she realized how much she enjoys the game, and that she had a chance to play in college.”
McCollum was recognized as a potential varsity standout since her middle school days.
As an eighth-grader, in fact, she practiced a lot with the varsity team, and last fall slid into the lineup perfectly, earning All-Conference honors as a freshman.
There’s little doubt that McCollum’s best days of high school golf are still ahead, in her junior and senior seasons, but she’s already really good.
McCollum studies her angle on a putt. Photo/Joe Lane
She is averaging a 43 score for nine holes and an 83 for 18. Her best day this year came at the Sydney Carfine Memorial Tournament at GVSU, where she shot a 74 and placed third.
McCollum’s biggest remaining challenge may be the emotional side of her game.
“Last year I struggled a lot when it came to recovering from a bad shot,” McCollum said. “After one tournament I wasn’t a very good teammate at all, after I had a bad round. But my attitude has gotten a lot better.”
Pallett said the mental part is still a work in progress for the sophomore.
“Sophia is very competitive, she wants to win, and that’s a good thing, but when she’s not winning, sometimes the mental part of the game still gets in her way a little,” the coach said. “She has gotten a lot better about that, but there are still moments when she struggles a bit.
“I know she has the skill and work ethic to have a very good high school career.”
Filling big shoes
Both Bluhm and McCollum had their work cut out for them heading into the season, because there were big shoes to fill.
For the past few years the Rockets were led by All-Stater Paige Anderson, who won individual city, conference and regional championships last season before finishing third at the Division 2 state finals.
She graduated in June and headed off to Ferris State University, leaving a pretty big hole at the top of the R-P lineup.
Bluhm said the pressure she felt to help fill the void has turned out to be a positive thing.
“I think it was good pressure and a motivator,” she said. “Paige is one of my best friends.”
Bluhm has accepted a scholarship to play golf at Albion College. Photo/John Willoughby
McCollum recognized the challenge but said she didn’t really feel pressure.
“It felt more like I just needed to step up for my team and myself,” she said. “I just wanted to do good and help my team. It made me want to work harder.”
The R-P team, recently ranked No. 8 in the state in Division 2, has had its share of good days this year, but has yet to finish in first place at any event.
The Rockets are obviously hoping to break that slump by successfully defending their city title on Wednesday.
If that happens, it won’t be just because Bluhm and McCollum play well. Several other Rockets will have to step up, which they have demonstrated the ability to do over the course of the season.
McCollum, a sophomore, is already one of the better players in the area. Photo/Joe Lane
Ella Voorhies and Olivia Ambler have both shown a lot of improvement and have had some very good days. Senior Emma Dvorak, the least experienced player in the lineup, has also had some stronger days where she lowered her score significantly.
Bluhm and McCollum know that a full team effort will be necessary to beat out teams like Mona Shores and Whitehall on Wednesday.
“Olivia and Ella have been coming along very well this year,” Bluhm said. “We have shown improvement as a team every week.”
McCollum said team improvement is a constant focus for the Rockets.
“At practice we are always working hard,” she said. “All of the girls have been trying to get better every day. Practice with a purpose is what I call it. My dad tells me that all the time.”