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.