BRIGHTON — Brighton boys golf coach James Dewling may have had the best response ever to being ranked No. 1 in Michigan this early in a season.
“They don’t have banners for rankings,” he said.
No, they don’t, but this is a Brighton team that’s fully capable of hanging a banner when it matters most on June 6.
The Bulldogs made a massive statement by shooting an unreal score of 4-under-par 280 to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association’s preseason tournament on Thursday, April 23 at Kensington Metropark Golf Course.
Brighton’s score shattered the Livingston County and KLAA record of 287. The Bulldogs shot 287 in last year’s preseason KLAA tournament and Hartland shot 287 in 2010 at districts and in 2014 at Locust Hills Golf Club in Springfield, Ohio.
The Bulldogs had three golfers shoot under par, while their fourth scorer was 1-over. They threw out scores of 2-over and 4-over.
Junior Grady Bissett and senior Brandon Lovejoy of Brighton shot 2-under 69s to tie Livonia Stevenson sophomore Joshua Kovie for first place. Senior Adam Forcier was fourth with a 70, freshman Ashton Elledge tied for fifth with a 72, senior Mitchell Stoll was seventh with a 73 and sophomore Easton Short tied for 11th with a 75.
“Today was a really special day,” Dewling said. “We got off to a hot start; it was 8-under through three. It’s great to see the hard work these guys put in during the winter. Those kind of days line up pretty well. It’s like we tell the guys, ‘You don’t get to have your career day every day.’ We measure it more by our bad days. But today we had it going as a team and as a program.
“It was just phenomenal to see them start hot. One of the most important aspects I learned from my team today is even when they start hot like that, they gave a few back and lost momentum in the middle and battled right back at the end.”
It was a performance befitting the No. 1 team in Michigan.
“Rankings are what they are,” Dewling said. “It’s more something that’s visible for our program and a nice accomplishment for our program. There are a lot of really good teams out there. Today we had a good day. It’s just a nice respect you have as one of the better programs in the state at this time. We still have to deliver. No rings or banners for rankings, but nice to see the hard work recognized from our peers in the coaches’ association that these players are playing well.”
The Bulldogs realize a top ranking won’t mean anything if they don’t perform at the right time. The recent history of No. 1-ranked teams in Livingston County includes the Brighton girls golf team that finished second in 2023 and the Howell hockey team that was eliminated in the quarterfinals this winter.
“It feels great being ranked No. 1 now just over (Detroit Catholic Central) and Rochester Adams,” Bissett said. “It’s a good confidence booster, but the season’s not over yet. We’ve still got a lot of tournaments to play, a lot of important rounds. It’s just another stepping stone to the state championship.”
For Bissett, it was his first time breaking 70 in a competitive round. He shot 69 while playing with a friend at Lakelands Golf and Country Club.
“It makes me feel like I can go out to any course and shoot 69, 70,” Bissett said.
Lovejoy was able to shoot his first 69 for Brighton by relying on a mentality that serves him well in his other sport. He has been the best outside shooter for Brighton’s basketball team the past two seasons, confidently taking 3-pointers even after he’s missed a few.
He had a triple bogey on No. 9 after hitting his tee shot left of the fairway and mishitting a chip shot to the green. Lovejoy responded by shooting 2-under 33 on the back nine.
“It’s always next shot,” Lovejoy said. “You’re always going to have a bad shot in golf, a bad play in basketball. It’s just kind of moving on to the next play, next shot, focusing on the next thing. It translates really well.”
Brighton won by 21 shots over Livonia Stevenson. Hartland was third out of 15 teams with a 304 and Howell was sixth with a 313.
Five of Hartland’s six golfers broke 80. Michael Maurin shot 75, Liam Kastamo and Grant Sturos 76s, Ethan Hawkins 77, and Aidan Oake 78 for the Eagles.
Leading Howell were freshman Nicholas Salvatore with a 77, Anson Forsyth with a 78, and Oliver Heikkinen and Michael Maiberger with 79s.
KLAA preseason boys golf
Team scoring: 1. Brighton 280; 2. Livonia Stevenson 301; 3. Hartland 304; 4. Northville 309; 5. Salem 310; 6. Howell 313; 7. Novi 317; 8. Canton 319; 9. Plymouth 323; 10. Dearborn 333; 11. Livonia Churchill 340; 12. Belleville 360; 13. Livonia Franklin 366; 14. Westland John Glenn 374; 15. Wayne Memorial 458.
Top individuals: Grady Bissett (Brighton) 69, Brandon Lovejoy (Brighton) 69, Joshua Kovie (Stevenson) 69, Adam Forcier (Brighton) 70, Ashton Elledge (Brighton) 72, Carson Kouba (Canton) 72, Mitchell Stoll (Brighton) 73, Ashton Higham (Stevenson) 74, Ethan Baisch (Plymouth) 74, Joseph Mekdad (Dearborn) 74, Michael Maurin (Hartland) 75, Easton Short (Brighton) 75, Colin Riehl (Novi) 75, Jordan Sziraki (Northville) 75, Luke Creighton (Salem) 75, Liam Kastamo (Hartland) 76, Grant Sturos (Hartland) 76, Dominic Faris (Salem) 76, Benjamin Zaremba (Northville) 76.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: No. 1 Brighton plays round for history books in KLAA golf tournament
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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