North Farmington’s Max Kollin Wins Playoff To Take Home State Golf Title

ROCHESTER – What’s the first thing you do when you when a state title?

Call Mom.

North Farmington’s Max Kollin beat Davison’s Kyle Kenkel in a one-hole playoff on Saturday to win the Division 1 individual state title at Katke-Cousins.

A teary-eyed Kollin walked off the green on No. 1 and his father Jimmy Kollin handed him the phone to tell her the good news: He'd won the first state golf championship in his school’s history.

It was a great moment to cap a tremendous day of golf.

Four players, including Kollin, finished their second round under par. The strong scores created a logjam at the top of the standings. Kollin shot a 1-under 71 on the day, after shooting a 1-over 73 on Friday.

Kollin, Kenkel, Francesco Ruffino from Birmingham Seaholm, Max Rispler from Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Otto Black from Pickney and Nick Dennis from Birmingham Brother Rice were separated by only two strokes.

Players gathered at the official’s table as scores were posted. It was a tense few minutes while golfers waited to see their fate. Kollin and Kenkel finished with a total score of 144, forcing the playoff. 

They played No. 1, a 426-yard par-4. Kollin hit a perfectly straight tee shot that landed 100 yards away from the green.

“He has some match-play experience,” his father said. “At age 15, he won the club championship at our home course Twin Beach. And he just had ice in his veins that day. When I saw him walking up the fairway with the other kid laughing, I had a feeling he was going to play (the last hole) loose.”

His second shot put him three feet to the right of the hole. Kenkel’s drive went a little farther, but his second shot left him short of the pin a good 10 feet. The Davison senior missed his birdie putt to give Kollin a chance for the win.

“I was shaking, I’m not going to lie about that,” Kollin said of the putt. “It was a pretty straight putt, I was pretty fortunate it veered off to the right and went in. It couldn’t have gone any slower.”

Kollin dedicated the win to Michael Leimbach. Leimbach passed away last week, and Kollin plays baseball with his son.

“He was a fan of mine,” Kollin said. “He was a great guy and a real fighter.”

The first place finish far exceeded Kollin’s expectations for the tournament. He was hoping to place in the top 10. His score on Friday put him in the hunt on Saturday. He started out the second day looking like he might run away with the title. On the front nine he shot a 5-under par.

“He was really hot on the beginning nine holes,” North Farmington coach Bruce Sutton said.

But Kollin didn’t execute as well on the back nine.

“He caught a couple of bad breaks,” Sutton said. “Over-shot a green, overplayed a couple of things and then at the last hole, laid up with the wrong club.”

The course leaves little room for error with its narrow fairways and small greens. It also features some doglegs that are very difficult. 

“You really have to drive it straight, if you’re off by a little bit you’re going to leave yourself with a really hard par putt,” Kollin said.

Kollin battled the last couple of holes and was able to keep his score under par. But he won’t get to celebrate for too long. He has a busy summer planned and will complete in four Amateur Golf Association of America tournaments and the Michigan Junior Amateur Championship.

“This summer, every other week, he’s in a multi-day event against national competition, including some of the best golfers that were here today,” Jimmy Kollin said. “It’s going to be a fun summer."

Division I Team Scores

Division I Individual Finishers

* Max Kollin wins with a birdie on the first playoff hole.