This Time, Cranbrook Kingswood Comes from 12 Back to Clinch Repeat Finals Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
ALLENDALE — Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood boys golf coach John Minnich didn’t need to deliver a special inspirational or motivational speech to his team after the first day of this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals at The Meadows at Grand Valley State.
Instead, with his team in fifth place and trailing by 12 shots going into Saturday’s final round, Minnich resorted to simple math as the primary message.
“I said, ‘We were 15 back (after the first day) last year,”’ Minnich said. “We’re only 12 back. That’s three shots per player. That’s nothing. I said, ‘You guys are good. We can make up three shots per player.’”
Cranbrook did that and more, shooting a sizzling second-day score of 292 to rally and win its first Finals championship in boys golf since 2014.
The Cranes finished with a two-day score of 602, four shots ahead of 2025 champion Grand Rapids Christian and five better than Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
On Saturday, Cranbrook got a 70 from freshman Tim Delzer, a 71 from senior Brennan Tato, a 74 from senior Henry Delzer and a 75 from senior Andrew Chang to complete the comeback – and in the opinion of Minnich, go down in history.
“I’ve been telling these guys all year that they are the best team in the state regardless of division,” Minnich said. “Division 1, 2, 3, 4, you guys are the best team. That’s the deepest team I’ve had. I’ve got eight, nine guys that I can put in that rotation. I have said that if we could play eight and count six, nobody could touch us. This is probably my favorite team, my best team and my closest team.”
Minnich said one factor contributing to his team’s success was its starting position on the course. Cranbrook started on holes 15, 16 and 17, and holding firm on those holes at the beginning of the round paid dividends later on.
“Holes 15 through 18 on a lot of golf courses is the toughest stretch of holes on the course,” Minnich said. “We played those early in the round. I knew that if we could make up some shots or at least hold our ground early, that those other teams would have to play those holes down the stretch. We were already through them.”
Grand Rapids Christian was seeking its third title in four years, but had to settle for the runner-up trophy after holding a one-shot lead over Catholic Central after the first day.
“I thought those kids fought really hard,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Kevin Broene said. “Golf is so difficult to play perfectly all the time with the ups and downs. I thought they played so hard today.”
Individually, 18 holes weren’t enough to decide the medalist.
East Grand Rapids junior JP Levan and DeWitt senior Justin Steinman finished with identical 1-under-par scores after 36 holes, creating a playoff to determine the winner.
Steinman won on the second playoff hole, which was the par-5 No. 9. He hit his drive to roughly 220 yards from the green, hit a 6-iron to within 10 feet of the hole and two-putted from there for a birdie and the win.
“It was a little nerve-racking, but it was fun,” said Steinman, who will play in college at Saginaw Valley State. “It was a blast. I love playoffs.”
Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Jack Klimek and Catholic Central sophomore Tommy Preston tied for third at 1-over-par.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)
Lake Orion Savors Championship Sweep
June 8, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
FRANKENMUTH – After 18 years of dreaming about this moment as head coach of the Lake Orion boys golf program, the reality obviously turned out to be even better for Monty Gallaher.
Since taking over the program, there have been tears over not being able to qualify for the Finals despite playing Regionals on the home course, years with disappointing finishes when his team had qualified for the championship tournament, or simply years when there wasn’t enough talent to win much of anything.
But the only tears Gallaher and the rest of Lake Orion’s team shed after the Lower Peninsula Division 1 tournament at The Fortress in Frankenmuth on Saturday were tears of joy after the Dragons captured their first MHSAA Finals title.
Lake Orion finished with a two-day score of 606, 11 shots better than the 617 put up by runner-up Grosse Pointe South.
Rockford was third at 621, Detroit Catholic Central shot a 623 to finish fourth and Hartland was fifth with a 624.
“I just feel a little numb right now,” Gallaher said. “I’ve known we can do this. We’re a great team. But finally seeing it happen, it’s winner winner, chicken dinner here in Frankenmuth.”
The Dragons took a 10-shot lead after posting a 294 for Friday’s first round, and actually were 18 strokes worse as a team on the second day.
But other than Grosse Pointe South, no other team was noticeably better to the degree needed to catch Lake Orion.
South entered the day 23 shots behind Lake Orion, a gap that was too much to overcome despite its better play during the second round.
But the reigning champion rallied to earn another runner-up finish, its third in four years to go with the title won last year.
“One of the things I stressed is that if you’re making good choices, there’s no regrets,” Grosse Pointe South head coach Rob McIntyre said. “Good choices lead to no regrets. They went out there and made some good choices today.”
Even better for Lake Orion was that it celebrated the individual champion as well after junior Justin Sui defeated Grosse Pointe South senior Coalter Smith in a playoff after each shot two-day scores of 141 (71-70).
After each parred the par-5 10th hole, Sui sank a 10-foot putt for par on the par-4, 9th hole to clinch the title as Smith was lining up a 6-footer for bogey that would have potentially forced a third playoff hole if Sui missed.
“I was really excited,” Sui said of his mindset going into the playoff. “I had the adrenaline rushing, and everyone was watching. The team was cheering me on. It felt great. I feel like I played better during the playoff than normal.”
Lake Orion senior Drew Coble flanked Sui by finishing in a tie for fourth with a two-day total of 145 (70-75).
Senior Andrew Remer shot a 159 (76-83), and junior Zach Hay had a 161 (77-84) to round out the top four for Lake Orion.
Gallaher said having to sleep on a 10-shot lead after the first night wasn’t too nerve-racking for his team, mainly because the Dragons kept as normal a routine as possible.
Instead of staying at a hotel in Frankenmuth, the team drove back home after Friday’s round, with Remer actually attending the school’s prom Friday night.
“I made the executive decision to sleep in our own beds,” Gallaher said. “We do all kinds of tournaments in southern Ohio and northern Michigan, where we stayed over and we didn’t play great. That was a determining factor. We didn’t win those tournaments and I said, “That’s what we are here to do, to win this tournament.’”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lake Orion got out to a 10-stroke lead during Friday’s first round at The Fortress. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South made a run at the title Saturday, finishing second for the weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)