Michigan
Michigan State golfer wins amateur title, two miss professional cuts
A second-round rally wasn’t enough for Katie Lu to stick around for the weekend.
The Michigan State junior fired a 3-under-par 69 on Friday but missed the cut in the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont. Her 36-hole total of 1-over 145 fell short of the cut line of 2-under to play the final two rounds.
Ally Ewing and Grace Kim are tied for the lead at 11-under with seven other players within three shots.
This week marked Lu’s second LPGA event after missing the cut in the Cognizant Founders Cup last year in her home state of New Jersey.
Lu had a standout junior year for the Spartans by leading the team with a scoring average of 71.54, which is the second-lowest total for a season in program history. She was named first team All-Big Ten and tied for 45th at the NCAA Championships last month as Michigan State tied for 17th as a team.
That performance landed Lu a sponsor exemption to the Meijer Classic and she was the lone amateur in the field. She opened the tournament with a double bogey on the first hole and shot a 4-over 76 on Thursday.
Beginning her second round on the back nine, Lu had three birdies, an eagle and a bogey to make the turn with a 4-under 32. She was within striking distance of the cut line but closed with a 1-over 37 on the front nine to fall short.
First-place finish
While Lu was making her second LPGA appearance, her teammate Shannon Kennedy was securing a trophy.
The Michigan State junior won the Michigan Women’s Amateur on Friday. Kennedy won 2-up in the match play final against Elise Fennell at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield.
“There were definitely a lot of emotions coming off 18,” Kennedy said in a Michigan State press release. “I had nerves pretty much all day but was able to keep control and execute the way that I needed to. When she conceded that putt to me, I kind of let loose, hugging my dad and looking over to see all my family and friends here. It was pretty surreal for me.”
With the victory, Kennedy automatically qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which will be Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Kennedy, from Bloomfield Hills, tied for 10th after two rounds of stroke play with a 12-over-par 152 total (78-74) on Monday and Tuesday. She followed by winning five matches over the last three days.
During her junior season, Kennedy posted a scoring average of 75.7 over 13 events. She tied for 128th in the NCAA Championships as the Spartans tied for 17th as a team.
Major opportunity
Michigan State men’s golfer Ashton McCulloch missed the cut at the U.S. Open on Friday. The junior from Canada shot 75-75 for a two-round total of 10-over 150 at Pinehurst No. 2 as the cut came at 5-over.
McCulloch posted an eagle and five bogeys during Thursday’s first round after teeing off in the morning. He played in the afternoon Friday and had two birdies, three bogeys and a double.
Ludvig Aberg leads the field at 5-under while Thomas Detry, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay are tied for second a shot behind.
McCulloch, a second team All-Big Ten selection this season, posted a 70.89 average per round, which set a program record. He earned a spot as an amateur in the RBC Canadian Open and missed the cut two weeks ago after posting a 36-hole total of 5-over.
Before-and-after images of homes on Black Lake near Onaway provide perspectives on how the community was affected by April flooding.
Snowmelt and rain have stressed dams and caused lakes to flood in northern Michigan.
The Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Office shared on social media photos and videos that the agency captured of Cheboygan County floods on Friday, April 17 from both the ground and air.
Deputies “observed a level of destruction that simply cannot be understood from ground level,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
Google Maps images taken from two locations on Black Lake in 2024, compared with the Friday images, show how the floodwater has changed the landscape.
On North Black River Road and Taylor Road, the water has overflowed to North Black River Road.
In the 400 block of South Black River Road, water has also flooded homes and lakeside property.
“Black Lake, Black River, Cheboygan River, Burt Lake, Mullet Lake, the Sturgeon River − and nearly every waterway in the county have overflowed beyond their banks, swallowing docks, roads, yards, and in far too many cases, homes,” the sheriff’s office post said. “What should be familiar shorelines are now unrecognizable expanses of water.”
“Our hearts are with every family affected by this flooding,” Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said in the post. “We know many of you are facing significant damage to your homes and property, and the emotional toll that comes with it. Please know you are not alone. We are working around the clock with our partners to ensure safety, provide support, and begin the process of recovery. Stay strong, stay connected, and don’t hesitate to reach out for help, we will get through this together.”
Nearby, the UAW Black Lake Conference Center shared images on social media of floodwater threatening its Old Lodge.
The conference center is located at 2000 Maxon Road in Waverly Township.
The Cheboygan County Road Commission and the Cheboygan County Office of Emergency Management closed the bridge at Five Mile Point Road on Saturday, April 18 due to significant road washout in the area of South Black River Road and Red Bridge Road.
The sheriff’s office had encouraged residents in parts of the area to evacuate earlier in the week and said Saturday it had completed evacuation efforts on the west side of the lake.
TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 20-year-old Kalamazoo man is dead after crashing his vehicle into a tree Friday evening in Texas Township, according to Michigan State Police (MSP).
It happened on South 3rd Street and West PQ Avenue around 6:50 p.m., troopers said.
While he was driving in a no-passing zone, the Kalamazoo man swerved off the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle and subsequently crashed into the tree, according to MSP.
The 20-year-old died at the scene. A passenger was hurt, but police said their injuries were non-life threatening.
Troopers do not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor, and the two were reportedly wearing seatbelts.
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This incident remains under investigation by MSP.
A Southfield man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and equipment to create fake documents, federal prosecutors said.
Jerome Antwan Andrews, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing the driver’s license information and Social Security numbers of more than 250 people in a scheme that caused more than $550,000 in fraud losses, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. said.
As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors say Andrews admitted to having an embosser, a laminator, a card cutter and an ID card printer and admitted that his business model was aimed at creating and selling fake Social Security cards and driver’s licenses in the names of real people.
“Jerome Antwan Andrews and his criminal associates stole more than $1.5 million by submitting hundreds of fraudulent claims to a pandemic program intended to help unemployed American workers. Today’s conviction of Andrews represents yet another attack in our war against fraud. It sends a stern warning that my office will relentlessly investigate those bad actors greedily lining their pockets with U.S. taxpayer funds,” said Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Andrews faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, according to prosecutors. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Labor investigated Andrews’ case.
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