Potential Unleashed, Adams Pursues Title
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
September 30, 2020
Time will tell how the Rochester Adams girls golf team will be judged this season.
But oh, what a ride it’s been so far.
Remarkably, Adams placed first in all seven of its tournaments heading into Wednesday’s Oakland County Invitational. In two of Adams’ tournament wins (at Hartland and Midland invitationals), the Highlanders bested then top-ranked and reigning LP Division 1 champion Northville. Adams has since moved to No. 1 In Division 1 with Plymouth No. 2 and Northville No. 3 according to the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association.
To suggest that this was a fluke is bunk. It’s possible for a team, or an individual, to complete that once-in-a-lifetime 18-hole round and finish on top. But seven times? Consecutively! Remarkable indeed.
Adams coach Jeff Kutschman knew this team had potential. So did his golfers. Last season Adams won its first three tournaments and finished a more-than-respectable seventh at the MHSAA Division 1 Final. That represented Adams’ first appearance in a Final since 2011, when it placed 14th. The Highlanders also placed second in the county meet and at Regionals in 2019. And they won the Oakland Activities Association White, the program’s first league title in 20 years.
Adams graduated two of its top five in the spring, but the two freshmen who replaced them are rising stars.
“We’ve got a bunch of trophies on the kitchen counter,” Kutschman said. “I told the girls, last year when we won those first three (that) this was amazing. (After the seven tournaments) I tempered them. They’re pretty grounded. I don’t have to tell them not to have a big head.
“The girls continue to impress me. I’m amazed at what they’ve done. And they’ve worked hard. (During) practice they’re constantly working on different parts of their game. After practice I’ll leave and they’ll text me and say things like I just made 250 putts from four feet because I wasn’t happy with my putts from that range.
“They know the game. They’re students of the game.”
Kutschman, an Adams graduate and teacher at Hart Middle School in Rochester, is in his fourth season as head coach. Five of his 10 golfers are seniors, but just one – Carly Ortwine, a captain – is among the top five. The other top players are junior Alyssa Fodale, sophomore Grace Wang and the two freshmen, Laura Liu and Fodale’s sister, Katie.
Liu leads the team in scoring average; Wang is second. Each was medalist twice during those first seven tournaments, and each placed second twice.
As fierce as the competition has been in the tournaments, the rivalry, though friendly, among Liu, Wang, Ortwine, et al, has only added to this season’s theatre.
“The girls have had an internal competition, which has been good,” Kutschman said. “The girls are constantly saying I want my teammates to do better and, at the same time, they want to be the one with the best score.”
Ortwine agreed, adding, “We all want to be the best. When one of the girls will come in with a low score, we all get excited. Then another will come in with a better score, and we get even more excited.”
An example took place at the Jackson Area Invitational where Liu was medalist with a 76, Wang placed second with an 80, Ortwine was third with an 81 and Katie Fodale was next with an 83.
The competition within this group is pretty intense.
Adams has racked up the miles this season travelling to Frankenmuth (Patriot Cup at The Fortress), Hartland (Hartland Glenn Golf Course), Jackson (Cascades Golf Course) and Midland (Dow Invitational at Midland Country Club). These rather long trips give the teammates more chances to interact, bond, and opportunities to play different courses thus providing new challenges.
For her part, Ortwine has made significant strides since her freshman season. She shot 89 at the Regional as a junior, which placed her in a tie for 13th. At the Division 1 Final at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, arguably the most demanding of the four courses to host a Finals last season, Ortwine carded a two-day total of 179 (87-92) helping her team to that fine finish.
This season she opened with a 78, 78 and a 77 before slipping to an 89 at the Patriot Cup. Ortwine rebounded with an 81 at Cascades and an 84 at the challenging Katke-Cousins Golf Course at Oakland University, then came in with a disappointing 90 in Midland.
“I’ve had some downfalls in my career,” Ortwine said. “Sometimes when you play (poorly) you get frustrated. Our coach does a good job of keeping us positive. We all support each other.
“We’re definitely close. Last year we had a pool party together. It’s important to step away and talk about other things, away from golf.”
With the MHSAA Tournament fast approaching – Adams’ Regional is scheduled to be played Oct. 7 with the Final on Oct. 16 at Forest Akers East – there’s pressure to play your best when so much is at stake.
For many years Adams has played in the shadow of city rival Rochester High. The Falcons have won four MHSAA titles, the most recent in 2016. Adams is seeking its first Finals championship, with the Highlanders’ most recent run at the top spot a runner-up finish in 1999.
Adams' 2020 tournament streak ended Wednesday, as the Highlanders finished third at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills to Bloomfield Hills Marian and South Lyon, the top-ranked team in Lower Peninsula Division 3 and No. 2 team in LP Division 2, respectively.
Adams can start another tournament streak at Monday's league finale, and the Highlanders plan to take this season's final steps one at a time. Ortwine is optimistic with regards to her team’s chances in October, but isn’t looking past the tasks at hand.
“”I’m definitely motivated to win a state championship,” she said. “But we’re not thinking about that right now. We’re concentrating on winning a league title, then moving on to the Regionals.”
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grace Wang watches a drive sail during Wednesday’s Oakland County Invitational. (Middle) Rochester’s Adams’ top five golfers, from left: Alyssa Fodale, Carly Ortwine, Wang, Katie Fodale and Laura Liu. (Photos courtesy of the Adams girls golf program.)
After Enjoying Pro Golf Stardom, Flynn Relishing Roles as Instructor, Sports Mom
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
July 31, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS – Kristina (Langton) Flynn recently arrived at a flag football tournament in Canton, Ohio, before the Hall of Fame game and was busy monitoring a group of her son’s teammates as they enjoyed themselves in a hotel pool.
It’s been a busy sports life for the past Grand Rapids Catholic Central golf standout and MHSAA Finals individual champion, but she wouldn’t want it any other way as she is currently relishing her role as a sports parent to her two young children, Knox (8) and Palmer (6).
“Being a sports mom is truly what I was meant to be,” Flynn said. “It’s amazing watching them work hard and work to improve in their sports. I’ll always be the loudest and biggest supporter of theirs.”
As a high school senior, Flynn won the medalist honor at the 2007 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at Eastern Michigan University’s Eagle Crest Golf Club.
She shot rounds of 79 and 74 for a 153 total and two-shot victory while helping lead her team to a sixth-place finish.
Flynn’s mother, Tammy Langton, was Catholic Central’s coach.
“As I get older, it’s been one of my most favorite memories in my golfing career to look back on,” Flynn said. “To have had my mom as my coach and to be there putting the medal around my neck – that’s a memory I will never forget. And as I get older and have kids of my own now, it’s even more special to have had that memory with her. It was just as much hers as it was mine.”
Flynn’s victory capped the last girls golf season played in the spring before the sport was switched to fall.
Now 36, she made giant strides during her high school career and improved immensely before capping it off with a state championship.
She was an individual qualifier as a sophomore before placing seventh as a junior.
“The progress from freshman to senior year just shows what can happen when you keep working hard and trust the process,” Flynn said.
After high school graduation, Flynn played at Grand Valley State and earned Freshman of the Year and first-team all-league honors in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association her first season. As a college sophomore, she was selected as a first-team All-American.
Her success at the collegiate level and life-long ambition prompted her to make a major decision.
With the support of her parents, she turned professional in the summer of 2009.
“I had a great experience in college that gave me an avenue to practice and prepare for where I wanted to be while being surrounded by a lot of amazing people,” Flynn said. “Going into college, my goal always was to play professionally. Everything I did was to prepare to be able to play on tour.”
Flynn went to LPGA Qualifying School and earned full-time status.
“After that, I decided not to go back to school,” Flynn said. “I never had a plan B for my career or in my mind – it was always to play professionally.”
Flynn earned status on the Futures Tour, which at the time was an LPGA developmental circuit, and played for two seasons.
“No regrets on the experience because golf has literally given me everything in my life,” Flynn said. “I’m super grateful to have had the opportunity to make my dream a reality.
“Mini-tour golf is a grind, and looking back, I would have done things differently for sure. I was so young and had a lot to learn.”
After Flynn stopped playing professionally, she received Class A PGA certification and started working as a club professional. She still competed for several years in tournaments, including at Michigan PGA and Mid-Atlantic PGA events.
Flynn has been the lead instructor at Kent Country Club the past nine years.
“I love being able to give back to the game that has given me so much,” Flynn said. “To be able to make a positive impact in my student’s game and life.”
Flynn, and her husband, Dan, married in 2016. He was a PGA head professional at Midland Country Club and she was at Cascade Hills Country Club when they met.
They started a family and have been engulfed in youth sports with Knox playing golf, flag football, baseball and basketball and Palmer participating in soccer, basketball and golf.
Knox has competed in the Drive, Putt and Chip junior skills competition.
“They both love to play golf,” Kristina Flynn said, “and it’s been amazing to be able to see it bring them as much joy as it has Dan and I.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Kristina Langton tees off during the 2007 Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. At right, Langton takes a photo with husband Dan and children Knox and Palmer. (Middle) Kristina Langton takes a photo with her mother and high school coach, Tammy Langton, after receiving her medal for winning the 2007 LPD3 individual title. (High school photos from MHSAA archives. Current photo courtesy of the Flynn family.)