Chieftains, Rangers move up in the standings

Published 9:13 am Wednesday, August 23, 2023

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SOUTH HAVEN — As the Lakeland-KVA Golf League played its third jamboree of the season, there was finally some shuffling amongst the top five teams.

Defending champion Kalamazoo Christian remains atop the standings after winning for the third straight outing as the Comets shot 194. Kalamazoo Hackett finished in the runner-up spot for the third straight jamboree as the Fighting Irish finished four strokes back with a 198.

Dowagiac tied Hackett with a 198, but the Chieftains wound up in third place based on the fifth-person scoring tiebreaker. It was the first time Dowagiac has not finished fourth so far this year.

South Haven, who had been third in both of the previous jamboree, placed fourth after shooting a 208 on its home course at HawksHead.

Cassopolis jumped up a couple of spots to place fifth with a score of 237. Berrien Springs finished ninth with a 314, while Brandywine only had three golfers and could not post a team score.

Kalamazoo Christian currently leads the standings with 33 points, while Hackett is second with 29.5, South Haven third with 26 and Dowagiac fourth with 25.5. Cassopolis is fifth with 18 points. Berrien Springs and Brandywine are 10th and 11th with eight and five points, respectively.

There was also a change atop the individual leaderboard as Dowagiac’s Rebecca Guernsey replaced Kalamazoo Christian’s Jordyn Bonnema as the medalist on Monday. Guernsey shot a 39, while Bonnema, and Hackett’s KJ Walters both finished with a round of 40.

In the race for league medalist. Bonnema still has a firm grasp on the No. 1 spot as she tries to defend her title. She has a stroke average of 38.00. Guernsey is now in second place with an average of 39.67, while Walters is third with an average of 42.67.

Cassopolis’ Nola Hawkins finished in the top 10 Monday as she shot a 51 to lead the Rangers. Dowagiac’s Carlee Spagnoli also placed in the top 10 as she shot 52.

Brandywine was led by Lexie Legatt, who shot an 80. The Shamrocks were led by Adeline Weber once again as she carded a 72.

The league is now off until Sept. 1 when Brandywine hosts the fourth jamboree at Hampshire Country Club.