109TH MICHIGAN WOMEN’S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Elayna Bowser, Olivia Stoll, Macie Elzinga and Elise Fennell in Final Four at Eagle Eye
Pictured above: Top: Elayna Bowser, Olivia Stoll Bottom: Macie Elzinga, Elise Fennell
EAST LANSING – Elise Fennell of Caledonia and Illinois State University and Macie Elzinga of Byron Center and Bowling Green State University are in the final four of the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship for the second consecutive year.
Elayna Bowser, a real-estate agent from Dearborn, is in the final four for the first time since she won the championship in 2019.
And the local player from Haslett, former Grand Valley State University golfer Olivia Stoll, is the only first-timer in the final four.
Bowser will play Stoll at 8 a.m. and Fennell will play Elzinga at 8:15 Friday morning in the semifinals at Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center, and the winners of those matches will square off in the afternoon for the title in the 109th edition of the state championship presented by Carl’s Golfland.
Each of the four earned their semifinal spots Thursday with wins in the morning round of 16 and in afternoon quarterfinal matches.
Bowser, 28 and the 2024 GAM Mid-Amateur champion, beat Kamryn Shannon of Jackson and Ferris State University 5 and 4 in the round of 16, and then lost a 2-up lead with two holes to go against top seed Kimberly Dinh of Midland before winning in 19 holes. She won with a conceded par when Dinh didn’t save par from a greenside bunker.
“Survive and advance, that’s what this is all about,” said Bowser, whose tee shot at the par 3 island green hole (No. 17) found water, and whose third shot on No. 18 found a deep greenside bunker allowing Dinh to tie the match and force the extra hole.
“I got off to a hot start again today, which I knew I would need against a player like Kim. You can never count her out. Even when I had a three-up lead, I said ‘keep your head down, keep going, keep doing what you are doing.”
Bowser has a plan, and she said she will stick to it for the final day.
“Fairways and greens have gotten me this far,” she said.
Stoll, who has graduated from Grand Valley and is working for her father at three family-owned courses, beat Jessica Jolly of Rockford and the University of Nebraska 4 and 3 in the round of 16, and then held off Bridget Boczar of Canton and Baylor University, 2 and 1.
“I hit the ball a lot better today and I’m starting to get a little more confidence with the driver,” she said. “Overall, I feel pretty good. There was a lot of good stuff today.”
She said she is excited to be in the final four of the state championship for the first time.
“I’ve made it to the eight a good amount, but this is one step farther and I have a chance on the last day,” she said. “It’s going to come down to whoever makes the most putts.”
Elzinga lost in the semifinals a year ago to eventual champion Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills and Michigan State University, and that’s who she was matched up in the round of 16 this time. She held Kennedy off 3 and 2 and then rallied from behind to beat Kate Brody of Grand Blanc and the University of Wisconsin, 2-up in the quarterfinal match.
She said she had a chip on her shoulder starting the day against Kennedy.
“It kind of felt like I was fighting some demons out there, reliving last year’s outcome, but I tried to stay in it shot by shot and I got the job done this time,” she said.
She said the match with Brody was a grind physically and mentally.
“I was down two after the front nine, and then I won the first two holes on the back,” she said. “Then nobody won a hole until 17. It was just a grind.”
Brody’s tee shot at 17 bounced over the back of the green into water, and then her tee shot at 18 found heavy rough left. Elzinga played three shots straight down the middle on 18 and two-putted for a winning par.
“There’s a lot of really good competitors in this field, so I’m pretty happy to make it to the final four the last two years,” she said. “We’re hoping for a different outcome this year.”
Fennell, the runner-up a year ago to Kennedy, said she came to the championship with one plan.
“To win it,” she said. “I got close last year and I’m glad to have another chance.”
She beat Ashleigh Duflo of Ada and the University of Findlay (Ohio) 2 and 1 in the round of 16 and then won by the same score in the afternoon against Anika Dy, the former University of Michigan golfer from Traverse City.
“The first match started a little rough, but I pulled it together, and then in the second match I hit the ball really good,” she said. “I was hitting it to 10 feet and making birdies. I played real solid.”
She also ended the second match with a wow moment, rolling in a 35-foot birdie putt at 17 to close it out.
“I had the pedal down all day, and then I got that one to go in,” she said. “I’m tired, but I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
She said she doesn’t get too nervous and that she plans to approach the final day the same as the rest of the week.
“I try to stay focused, stay in the moment,” he said. “I’m back where I wanted to be.”
RESULTS: Visit GAM.org
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