Montague girls golf has a bright long-term future, with four of this year’s six projected varsity players being underclassmen. However, coach Phil Kerr is looking forward to the short term as well, as Braylyn Bultema and Cadence Fox are set to lead this year’s Wildcats.
Bultema and Fox, a senior and junior respectively, enjoyed a productive offseason. They put in their share of work in the winter and spring, and this summer, Fox was second and Bultema third out of 20 competitors in the season-long Greater Muskegon Junior Tour standings in their age group. Kerr thinks the best is yet to come for both players.
“We think the ceiling for those two is really high,” Kerr said. “I don’t think they’ve shown it yet. I think they haven’t scratched the surface yet of what they can shoot at regionals. I think we have a real chance to win some good recognition around the state by the end of the year.”
While Bultema and Fox clearly represent the Wildcats’ best shot at individual accolades at the end of the season, there’s team-wide growth to look forward to as well. Addi Smith, a sophomore who ended last season as the Wildcats’ #5 player, is poised for a big improvement in her second varsity campaign, and Brynlee Kessler, who had a very strong year in JV events last fall, should slide into a consistent scoring role on the varsity.
“She worked really hard this winter and did a lot of stuff on her own,” Kerr said of Kessler. “She played softball as well, and we think she’ll be really strong for us.”
Rounding out the Montague lineup should be a pair of underclassmen - Molly Mulder and Marguerite O’Connell. Kerr said other freshmen are set to play JV matches too.
The Wildcats aren’t putting any pressure on themselves, but they’re hopeful they can be a factor in the nine-team West Michigan Conference race, made more interesting this year by a switch to 18-hole jamborees. It was a move Kerr said was driven by practicality - 54 golfers on a nine-hole course can get cramped - but was also made in hopes of prepping players for the postseason.
“The 9-hole events just weren’t getting our kids ready for 18-hole golf,” Kerr said. “That was a change the coaches pushed for.”
Montague will also participate in competitive meets at the Tullymore and Katke courses. The latter invitational should be even more interesting than usual this year because Katke is hosting the Division 1 state finals for the first time, which should attract a slew of high-level teams.
No matter what happens this fall, Kerr thinks it will lay the groundwork for some great years to come.
“I’m looking forward to working with this group over the next two years and building something special,” Kerr said.
