Kulka, Patil Win GAM Junior Stroke Play Titles

Brandon Kulka of Jackson, Saisha Patil of Okemos Win GAM Junior Stroke Play Titles

 EAST LANSING – Brandon Kulka of Jackson won his first GAM tournament on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff while Saisha Patil of Okemos won the only 15-and-under GAM title that had eluded her.

  They were the champions of the 17th GAM Junior Stroke Play Championship presented by Imperial Headwear Friday at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East Course.

  Kulka, 15, made an eight-foot par on the third playoff hole to turn back Blake Springstead of Kewadin. He set it up by shooting his personal best score of 6-under 65 for a 4-under 138 total and Springstead shot a second consecutive 69 for his 138.

  Draven Rogers of Fort Gratiot shot 72 for 141 and finished third, and rounding out the top five were Martin Wayman Jr. of Grosse Pointe Farms, who shot 70 for 142, and Parker Westcott of Manchester, who shot 71 for 143.

  In the Girls’ Championship, Patil shot a second consecutive even-par 71 for 142, just ahead of Isabella Michetti of Ann Arbor, who shot 70 for 143.

  Anika Srivastava of Okemos was third after a 77 for 148, and three golfers tied at 150, including defending champion Hannah Kim of Troy, who shot 77, Belen Berishaj of Birmingham, who shot 76, and Eleanor O’Grady of Grand Rapids, who shot 77.

  Kulka called the victory the biggest in his young career, and said he managed it with a putter that was on fire.

  “I putted really bad yesterday, and then today it was a complete 180 and I made a lot of putts, a couple long ones, too,” he said. “I had a really good stroke going and I was reading the greens phenomenal. I could see the line super well on every putt, and then it was just a matter of making a good stroke with the right pace on that line.”

  The putter saved him in the playoff, too. He made a 12-footer to save par after a tee shot in the trees on the first hole, then rolled in a 20-footer on the second hole after coming up short on his approach and finally knocked in an eight-footer for par to win.

  “It was a lot of fun today,” he said. “The playoff was really fun. It means so much to have my dad (Mike) here supporting me the whole way through. We talked last night about what score it would take to catch the leader today, and I did better by one and needed it. It’s my best score in any round, and to do it in a tournament means a lot.”

  Patil, meanwhile, won her sixth GAM title, including two 12-and-under titles and now a grand slam four 15-and-under titles. Earlier this summer the 14-year-old standout played in the older girls’ division and was the runner-up in the Michigan Girls’ Junior Amateur to Alena Li of Okemos.

  “I wanted to win this one because last year I didn’t play in this one and the last time I played in it, I didn’t do too well,” said last year’s GAM 15-and-under Girls’ Player of the Year. “I knew it was the fourth one (of the age group). I thought about it, and it was definitely my goal to win it this year.”

  She said her driver tee shots were not as consistent as she would like it, but she made several key chip shots to key her rounds.

  “I was scrambling a bit again, but there is room here to scramble with the fairways being pretty open,” she said. “What really helped the past two days was chipping. I was able to chip close for birdies and to save pars.”

  Patil said birdies on holes 15 and 16 set up by good pitch shots within 10 feet of the holes were the key to her round.

   “I was able to make good putts on those holes for birdie after kind of rough start on the back nine,” she said. “I played better coming in and won a tournament I really wanted to win. I’m proud of myself for that.”

RESULTS: See GAM.org or the Golf Genius App