Bloomfield Hills

Cranbrook-Kingswood girls golf boasts experience and numbers

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Erin Sanchez Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Greer Clausen leads an experienced squad looking to make waves in the Division 3 playoffs. Photo by Erin Sanchez Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood’s Greer Clausen leads an experienced squad looking to make waves in the Division 3 playoffs.

The Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood girls golf program is continuing its rise, according to coach Mark Moyer.

The program boasts 21 athletes on the active roster, compared to three seasons ago when there were less than 10.

“Now we’re getting numbers like the other good programs in the area, like Seaholm and Country Day,” Moyer said.

The girls on varsity have Moyer believing that the Cranes could ascend straight to the top of Division 3.

Cranbrook finished 10th in the state last season, and returns all six girls who played in that tournament.

This season, they’re even better, Moyer said.

In the Division 1 Oakland County Tournament Sept. 19 at the Pontiac Country Club, the Cranes finished sixth overall, which was the highest placement for a team that plays at the D-3 state level.

Last season, Cranbrook was 15th in the county. It dropped 42 strokes from that score.

Moyer said the improvement comes from the experience of being in that situation before and making good decisions on the course.

“To me, that’s what’s going to differentiate the top teams, the ones that make good choices on the course. It can be a big difference,” Moyer said. “It’s really what we’ve tried to stress to them, that it can be key. Teaching some of them that even though they can hit it a long way off the tee, sometimes driver isn’t the club to use. You have to do your homework and play practice rounds.”

Greer Clausen and Cordelia Chan lead the Cranes as the No. 1 and No. 2 golfers, respectively.

“There are really two sides to it. We have two of the top players in D-3 in Clausen and Chan. They were very, very active in the junior tournaments during the summer, so they’re games continue to be strong,” Moyer said. “What’s been key is the improvement of the players at No. 3 through No. 7. Though they may not be as consistent, there’s a nice potential for them to kick in with some decent scores that make us very competitive within our division and league.”

At press time, the Cranes were 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the Catholic High School League. It’s only loss came to Oakland County champ Farmington Hills Mercy.

Moyer told his squad that it has the potential for a top-three finish in the state and even a state title, but not to take anything for granted.

In regionals, the top three teams and top three individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the state final.

For the Cranes, their regional includes three of the top four ranked teams in the state, including themselves, plus a formidable Warren Regina squad, which is behind Mercy and Cranbrook in the CHSL standings.

That means one of those four teams won’t be advancing.

“I told them that we have to get through the first stage, and not to figure it’s a guarantee because we were there last year,” Moyer said. “There is still a ways to go, but the

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062. Follow Christian on Twitter.