Freshman spurred by sibling rivalry provides boost for Brighton golf in KLAA tournament
BRIGHTON — Adam Forcier’s initial motivation to improve at golf was to beat his sister.
There’s no shame in losing to a golfer like Lauren Forcier, who made first-team all-state as a junior at Brighton last fall, but try telling that to a younger brother.
“She was better than me when we started,” he said. “It made me strive to be better than her. We’re going at it still.”
Lauren Forcier has been a driving force behind the success of the Bulldogs’ girls golf program. Perhaps her influence on her kid brother will help keep Brighton’s boys competitive well after this year’s strong senior class graduates.
Adam Forcier, a freshman playing in his first varsity event, shot 1-over-par 73 to tie for fourth place in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association preseason tournament Thursday at Kensington Metropark Golf Course.
All six Brighton golfers shot in the 70s and cracked the top 13 in the 89-player field, as the Bulldogs took first place with a score of 294. Northville was second out of 15 teams at 297, Howell was fourth at 322 and Hartland was fifth at 328.
With junior Levi Pennala playing goalie for Team Michigan this week in a hockey tournament in Minnesota and lineups expanded from five players to six, Forcier and sophomore Jacob Daavettila made their varsity debuts. They earned their berths the previous day in a JV tournament at Dunham Hills in Hartland, with Forcier shooting 77 to tie for second and Daavettila 78 to tie for fourth.
“I was a little nervous at the start,” Forcier said. “Once I started playing well, I kind of calmed down a little bit and started to feel better.
“I wanted to at least make one varsity tournament or match; I already made that happen. I just want to keep getting better throughout the season.”
Forcier and his sister both started competing later than most top high school golfers, starting three years ago for something to do when COVID restrictions shut down many other youth sports.
While they have a sibling rivalry, Lauren is one of Adam’s biggest boosters. Brighton’s girls play many of the same courses as the boys, including at least two tournaments at year at Kensington Metropark.
“She always helps me out with the courses and how to play them, because she’s played them before,” Adam said. “Also, with the nerves and how to feel going into the tournament.”
Making the varsity for the postseason will be extremely difficult. Lineups have only five golfers for the regional and state tournaments, and Brighton returns all five players from a team that placed third in Division 1 last season.
“That’s, of course, my goal, but I would never want to take a spot from someone who’s doing good,” Forcier said. “Whatever happens happens, but that would be my goal.”
Forcier’s round was highlighted by eagles on the fifth and 18th holes. As a team, the Bulldogs had four eagles and two birdies on No. 18, playing the 430-yard par-4 at 10-under-par.
Senior Andrew Daily led Brighton with a 72, tying for second place. Northville senior Ryan Gallagher was first with a 70.
“We played pretty well as a team today,” Daily said. “Honestly, it feels good knowing I have guys behind me who are going to put good rounds together. It takes the pressure off me.”
Lerch tied Forcier for fourth place with a 73.
“We’re all rooting for each other,” Lerch said. “It’s cool to see a freshman go low today; we weren’t expecting that. A couple guys went low. It’s good to have guys to rely on. Hopefully, we’ll compete for something later in the year.”
The Bulldogs’ other scores were a 76 by junior Riley Morton, a 77 by senior Matt Doyle and a 78 by Daavettila.
“We’re very fortunate this year that none of our starting five graduated last year, so they’re all back,” Brighton coach James Dewling said. “We’ve just got great relationships with our players. Watching the young guys come up and having the opportunity to learn from these older guys is something to see. We’re really excited about the future of those two young players in the lineup today.”
Another young Livingston County golfer who excelled was Howell sophomore Zach Spencer, who tied for sixth with a 74.
Howell sophomore Luke Downing and Hartland junior LJ Sabala tied for 19th by shooting 80s.
The results from Thursday and the KLAA postseason tournament May 23 at Kensington Metropark will determine the league champion.
KLAA preseason golf tournament
Team scoring
1. Brighton 294; 2. Northville 297; 3. Novi 304; 4. Howell 322; 5. Hartland 328; 6. Salem 329; 7. Livonia Franklin 334; 8. Livonia Stevenson 338; 9. Canton 339; 10. Plymouth 357; 11. Livonia Churchill 375; 12. Westland John Glenn 378; 13. Dearborn 385; 14. Belleville 451; 15. Wayne 514.
Top individuals
Ryan Gallagher, Northville, 70
Andrew Daily, Brighton, 72
Gowtham Nalluri, Novi, 72
Adam Forcier, Brighton, 73
Winston Lerch, Brighton, 73
Zach Spencer, Howell, 74
Greg Braun, Northville, 74
Harshan Juttu, Novi, 75
Andrew Caprara, Franklin, 75
Mason Sokolowski, Northville, 75
Riley Morton, Brighton, 76
Matt Doyle, Brighton, 77
Jacob Daavettila, Brighton, 78
Colin Riehl, Novi, 78
Nick Tokarz, Northville, 78
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Freshman spurred by sibling rivalry provides boost for Brighton golf
