Glen Lake junior Michael Houtteman proved he is one of the prep golfers on the high school circuit as he finished first in a field of 216 golfers at the TCC Golf Invitational hosted by Crystal Mountain on Friday and Saturday.
Houtteman shot 72 and 74 over 36-holes on the Betsie Valley and Mountain Ridge courses for a total of 146 on a cold and windy day.
“It was really cold and windy again, tough, tough conditions, but it was fun to manage to get my ball around,” Houtteman said.
Houtteman hit smoothly both days while focusing on strengthening his short game around the greens.
“I need to continue to work on it, but overall, I’m very happy with the result,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on myself. It’s just me against the course … just going through my routine, with the same amount of effort. It’s just another day to play some golf.”
Houtteman continued his strong start to the golf season as the calendar flipped to May. He won the Leland Country Club Invitational on Monday in yet another windy day with a 33 (-3) in nine-holes.
Leland and Glen Lake tied overall with a team score of 188. Frankfort (196), Onekama (198), Benzie Central (217), and Kingsley (225) followed in the six-team field.
“All of us can have a few more shots around the greens which definitely create more of a separation,” Houtteman said.
As a young team, Glen Lake is starting to figure out their go-to shots and hit off the tee cleanly and in play.
Houtteman shot a 33 followed by Benzie’s Christien Westcott 38 (2nd), Frankfort senior Aiden O’Dwyer 39 (3rd), and sophomore Cash Rosum 43 (5th), Onekama senior Peyton Clouse 44 (6th). Glen Lake senior Jacob Switzer rounded out the top-8 with a 49.
The Comets are trending upwards and providing competition against Glen Lake as a team for the first time in years.
Both Leland and Glen Lake play at Kingsley on Monday, April 19 at 1 p.m. before traveling to Frankfort on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
