FRUITLAND TWP. - Last week the two teammates had to go head-to-head in a regional playoff, to see who qualified for the state finals and who had to stay home.
It was a gut-wrenching experience for Reeths-Puffer golfers Sophia McCollum and Rowan Bluhm, who are the best players on their team, very equal in skill and close friends.
But on Monday they were total allies again as they played together for the final time, hoping to win another city championship for their school.
They were successful, to stay the least.
McCollum, only a sophomore, shot an 83 and won the first individual city championship of her career.
Individual city champion Sophia McCollum
Bluhm, a senior, shot an 84 and finished in second place.
Their efforts, along with some great shooting from their teammates, helped the Rockets capture their second consecutive team championship at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Tournament at the White Lake Golf Club.
The fact that McCollum and Bluhm were neck-and-neck in their scores was nothing new. They have been taking turns leading the Rockets all season.
Last week, at a Division 2 regional tournament, their always-similar scores proved to be a curse.
They tied for sixth place in the individual standings and had to play a one-hole playoff to determine who got the final available bid to the state finals.
McCollum putts on her way to winning the title.
McCollum beat Bluhm by a stroke in the playoff, and while everyone was happy for her, they were also sad that Bluhm never got the chance to compete at state in her high school career.
Monday’s success put that all behind them, because there was a team trophy to celebrate.
“It definitely does,” Bluhm said, when asked if the team title took the sting out of missing out on the state finals. “It kind of turned my frown upside down, you could say.
“(Regionals) was pretty difficult. I don’t think anyone is ever truly prepared for a situation like that, but I was beyond happy for Sophia.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to be city champs today. Everyone wanted to go out with a win.”
Rowan Bluhm, who finished second, one shot behind McCollum.
Bluhm had to overcome some pain on Monday to even participate. The injured her wrist before the tournament– the same injury that forced her to miss a good part of her sophomore season.
But there was no way she was going to miss her final high school tournament before heading off to Albion College on a golf scholarship.
“I was hitting at the range and I just tweaked it,” she said. “It was pretty stiff and I couldn’t move it for about 10 minutes, but it was tolerable. Coach Pallett was kind of like, 'Tell me if it gets worse, we can take you to a doctor,’ but I was not going to the doctor. At some point you have to fight through it."
For McCollum, the day was a double-celebration. Not many sophomores are good enough to win the individual title at the city tournament, and it came just a week after she qualified for the state finals for the first time.
"It feels good,” she said about winning the individual title. “I wasn’t really expecting it. I started out pretty rough, but I pulled through at the end.”
McCollum agreed that it meant a lot to work with Bluhm and their teammates toward a common goal, after last week’s difficult situation.
Olivia Ambler, who had her first top 10 finish on Monday.
“It was fun to be able to play together one more time,” she said. “I knew we could win. We all wanted to win and we knew we had the potential.”
The city title was the first tournament championship for the Rockets this season.
After losing All-Stater Paige Anderson to graduation last year, the Rockets returned a lineup of Bluhm, McCollum and three players with much less experience this fall.
But Bluhm and McCollum became two of the best players in the area, the other three girls kept improving and the team was playing well by the end of the season.
Everyone shot very well on Monday.
R-P's Ella Voorhies checks her team's scores when moving between holes.
Sophomore Olivia Ambler had the first top 10 finish of her career, shooting a 93, finishing seventh and winning a medal.
Sophomore Ella Voorhies shot a 101 and senior Emma Dvorak, a less experienced player, shot a career-best 108.
The Rockets finished with 361 team points, easily outdistancing second-place Whitehall, which finished with a 369. Montague was third at 371, followed by Mona Shores (377), North Muskegon (389) and Fruitport (445).
“We knew it was going to be an interesting year,” said R-P head coach Matt Pallett. “We lost a two-time All-Stater, but we still set some reasonable goals for ourselves, one was winning city again, and we did it today.
“All year we have been trending in the right direction. We purposefully play some tough courses and some tough teams. That’s been our formula for success since I’ve been here, and we just kept getting better.
R-P's Emma Dvorak, who shot a personal best round, chooses a club.
“Olivia got her first top 10 today. Voorhies was disappointed with shooting a 101, but earlier in the year she was shooting in the 120s. Dvorak set a new personal record. I am proud of the whole team."
Pallett said it’s exciting to see McCollum begin to achieve so many great things so early in her varsity career.
“Sophia is a nice player,” he said. “On any other team she would have been the clear No. 1 all year. She has a great future ahead of her. I am excited about her opportunity this weekend at state to showcase her abilities.
“It’s all right in front of her right now. She is one of the better sophomores in the state.”
Pallett was particularly proud of Bluhm for overcoming her injury, playing great on Monday and helping the Rockets keep their city title.
“You’ve got to understand how proud I am of Rowan,” he said. “To have that disappointment last week, then to injure that wrist again on the driving range today, but there was no quit in her. There was no way she wasn’t going to play today, and she made that very clear to me. She had a gutsy effort today. She kind of willed us to victory.”