Andrew Daily
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: Daily, a three-time all-county selection, added first-team all-state honors to his resume. He placed fourth at regionals with a 69, the lowest regional score for a Brighton golfer since 2008. Daily, a Wayne State recruit, tied for eighth in the state Division 1 tournament with rounds of 73 and 74. He averaged 74.08 for 18 holes and 36.40 for nine. His average in four postseason rounds was 72.75.
► Coach James Dewling: “He consistently got better every year. That says a lot about his mentality to learn, get better, fight through tough rounds. One of the best attributes about Andrew is he’s always willing to listen and learn and wants to be a really good player.”
Matt Doyle
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: Doyle is a repeat first-team all-county selection who competed in three state tournaments. He finished 10th in two KLAA tournaments with rounds of 77 and a season-low 75. He tied for 20th at regionals with a 77. Doyle averaged 79.00 for 18 holes and 39.40 for nine.
► Coach James Dewling: “He’s a team favorite, our opponents’ team favorite as well. He’s one of the happiest guys on the course. He had a really good career at Brighton. I think he’s one of those guys in the future you might see playing in a Michigan Am or something and continue to play really good golf.”
Winston Lerch
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: Lerch made Michigan’s all-division Super Team after making first-team Division 1 all-state as a junior and receiving honorable mention as a sophomore. His 18-hole average of 72.31 is the lowest in school history. He didn’t shoot a round over 75 all season and didn’t place lower than seventh in a tournament. Lerch, a Grand Valley State University recruit, tied for fifth in the state tournament with rounds of 75 and 71. He shot 12-over-par for the season in 13 tournaments and averaged 36.40 for nine holes. His three-year career average of 74.7 is a school record.
► Coach James Dewling: “You could argue he had the most complete career of any player at Brighton when you look at his overall statistics. It says a lot about him and the confidence he has in his golf game and his toughness. When you talk about being a pro’s pro in professional sports, it comes down to consistency; that’s professionalism. That’s the epitome of what his career was.”
Riley Morton
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Accomplishments: Morton will be Brighton’s top returning player after averaging 77.83 for 18 holes and 39.40 for nine. He had consecutive rounds of 73, 75, 74 and 76 heading into the state tournament. He tied for sixth in the KLAA with rounds of 76 and 74. Morton tied for 13th at regionals with a 76. He was a second-team all-county pick last season.
► Coach James Dewling: “He made a strong progression from sophomore year to junior year. He really came on late. If you look at his scoring average late in the year, he had a few top 10s. He played nicely at the Plum Hollow event and the post-KLAA. He’s someone we can look to for next year to have a standout senior year.”
Levi Penala
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Accomplishments: Pennala followed up a second straight all-state hockey season as Brighton’s goalie by making the all-county first team in a second sport. Playing from the No. 5 spot, Pennala averaged 78.50 for 18 holes and 38.80 for nine. He tied for 20th in the state tournament with rounds of 75 and 80.
► Coach James Dewling: “It’s every coach’s dream to have a guy playing in the fifth spot like Levi. You never heard a complaint about anything; he’ll always show up. Even if he’s having a bad day, he realizes he can tee it up soon. Nothing affects him. I attribute a lot of that to the Brighton hockey program. They describe him as ‘Nails’; nothing affects him.”
Zach Spencer
► School: Howell
► Class: Sophomore
► Accomplishments: Spencer is the first Howell golfer to make first-team all-state since state Class A champion Shawn Koch in 1994. He tied for 13th at regionals with a 76, two shots shy of qualifying for the state tournament. Spencer tied for sixth in the KLAA with rounds of 74 and 76. He averaged 75.3 for 18 holes, shooting 77 or lower in eight of nine tournaments. Spencer averaged 36.9 for nine holes.
► Coach Jeff Hughey: “He always wanted to play against the best players. He wanted to see how he would do against some of the better players on other teams. He never stepped down from any challenge, which for a 10th-grader is pretty unique.”
SECOND TEAM
Brady Betteley, Hartland, Jr.
Nolan Cuellar, Howell, Sr.
Jacob Daavettila, Brighton, Soph.
Luke Downing, Howell, Soph.
Keller King, Hartland, Jr.
Hayden Sturos, Howell, Sr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Brighton: Adam Forcier (Fr.). Fowlerville: Alex Mack (Sr.). Hartland: Ian Kastamo (Soph.), Michael Maurin (Fr.), LJ Sabala (Jr.). Howell: Jacob Dault (Soph.), Rory Sturos (Soph.). Pinckney: Carson Plante (Soph.).
Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Meet the 2023 All-Livingston County boys golf team