HARBOR SPRINGS — BOYNE Golf’s Sarah White Feeling Good at Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands
HARBOR SPRINGS – Sarah White, BOYNE Golf ambassador on the LPGA Epson Tour, was feeling good about her opening round in the Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands.
“I had to grind a little bit, but a lot of it was because of the wind,” she said after an opening 2-under 70 on the Heather Course had her tied for 18th through the first round of the 54-hole $250,000 championship Friday.
“Overall, I feel really good. I think I played my game really well. I actually tried to play conservatively aggressive so when I had wedge in my hand I could fire right at the pin. I’m hitting my wedges really well right now.”
White, a Grand Rapids native now living in Texas and a one-time winner on the Epson Tour, was just three shots off the lead of Australian Jennifer Elliott, a second-year Epson player who opened with a 5-under 67. Six golfers, including Amari Avery, who has one win this season, Cynthia Lu, Megan Osland, Catherine Park, Gianna Clemente and Kaleigh Telfer, were at 4-under.
The second-year championship continues through Sunday, with a cut to the low 60 scorers and ties after Saturday’s second round. White is looking forward to the weekend.
“It was a perfect Northern Michigan day, but I hope the wind is down a little when I play in the morning,” she said. “The players love the course and it’s in really good shape. I mean, obviously we all know 18 is a tough hole, but that’s like the only complaint anybody has. Boyne has this place in immaculate pure Michigan shape.”
White, who had Michigan PGA professional Jordan Young, director of golf operations for GameAbove, serving as her first-round caddie, had five birdies and three bogeys in her round and said the sliding 10-foot putt she made for birdie on hole 14 was probably the best shot of the day.
“It broke probably two feet, and it felt really great when that went in,” she said. “I even got Jordan to cheer for me on that one.”
Smith’s husband Julian Rincones, who sometimes caddies for her, was expected to arrive from Texas on Friday evening and take over caddie duties for the second round.
“I’m excited to be home in Michigan and get off to a good start,” White said. “I can’t wait to get out there tomorrow and play again.”
The Epson Tour is in Michigan for a three-week stretch. Last week they were in Marshall for the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, and next week they play the Island Resort Championship in Harris of the Upper Peninsula.
In addition to White, several golfers with Michigan ties are in this week’s field.
Valery Plata, Brooke Biermann and Yurika Tanida are former Michigan State Spartans in the field, and Ashley Lau, Monet Chun and Hailey Borja are former Michigan Wolverines on the tour.
Biermann, a St. Louis, MO. native, was faring best through one round with a 3-under 69, just two shots off the lead.
Plata, from Colombia, opened with a 70, as did Tanida, a native of Japan who lived in East Lansing during her college career. Tanida was the Golf Association of Michigan Women’s Player of the Year in 2019.
Chun, who is from Canada, had the best score among the former Wolverines with a 71. Borja, a Californian, and Lau, who is originally from Malaysia, each shot 73.
Jessica Welch, a Georgia native who has won the last two Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championships, shot 71 in the first round.
In addition to the players, two caddies working in the championship are former Michigan Women’s Amateur Champions. Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills, a former MSU golfer who won the Amateur in 2024, was working the bag for Plata, and Anci Dy of Traverse City, the 2022 champion, was working for Matilda Cedarholm of Sweden, her former teammate at the University of Indianapolis.
The winner Sunday will take home $37,500 and a shot at another $20,000 in bonus money is available because The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Epson Tour created the Pure Michigan Cup last year. The Pure Michigan Cup money will be distributed to the top three points earners at the conclusion of the Michigan stretch of tournaments, which includes last week’s FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Marshall, this week’s Great Lakes Championship at The Highlands and next week’s Island Resort Championship in Harris