Jon Levy holed out
his high school career
with the Class A
state golf championship.

STEVE STEIN

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

At 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds,
Jon Levy doesn't look much
like a state champion. But
looks, as they say, some-
times are deceiving.
That's certainly the
case here. Levy, a se-
nior at Birmingham
Groves, won the
Class A boys golf
tournament last
month in East
Lansing.
He shot an
even-par 71 at Forest Akers
East, then a 1-over 73 in the
rain at tougher Forest Akers
West for a 144 total in the
two-day competition.
Levy began his first round
with four birdies in six holes
and he ended up with 10
birdies over the 36 holes. He
hit the green in regulation on
an amazing 27 holes.
Despite his size, Levy hits
the ball a ton. That's his forte.
"Jon generates a lot of
swing speed," said Groves
coach Jim Crosby. "He's hit
the ball longer and longer
each year because he's such
a hard worker and he's got-
ten a lot of help from many
different instructors."
"I can hit it long, especial-
ly when I really want to,"
Levy said. "Consistency is my
problem. When things are go-
ing good, everything is work-
ing for me. But when I'm
having problems, my whole
game is bad.
"What I need to do when
I'm struggling is try not to
worry and get too far ahead

*aid
Jon Levy had the lowest score of all the state champs.

of myself. I have to concen-
trate on the next shot, finish
the hole I'm playing and
move on to the next one."
Levy, 17, a Bloomfield Hills
resident, was on the Groves
varsity team for four years.
He's been the No. 1 player
since he was a sophomore. He
was the meet medalist in sev-
en of nine dual meets this
season, averaging 36.8 for
nine holes. His 18-hole tour-
nament average was 76.9.
He qualified for the state
tournament twice during his
career at Groves, the first
time as a sophomore. Earlier
this year, he earned a share
of the championship in the
rain-shortened Oakland

County tournament.
"I can't remember a time in
the last three years when Jon
didn't finish in the top 10 in
a tournament," Crosby said.
"I thought that Jon would
have a shot at the state
championship because he'd
been playing well, his confi-
dence was high and he was in
a competitive frame of mind,"
the coach added.
"But, like in any big tour-
nament, there are so many
good players and any one of
them can win it. I figured Jon
was one of the top five or six
players there, but he had to
go out and prove it."
Crosby says he believes
Levy is the first male golfer

from Groves to win the state
title. The Falcons have cap-
tured two team chE, npi-
onships over the years, and
Suzy Green won two girls in-
dividual crowns.
One thing's for certain:
None of the more than 550
golfers in the Class A, Class
B, Class C and Class D tour-
naments last month posted a
lower total than Levy The
Class A runner-up was Matt
Riegal of East Lansing, who
shot 71-76--147, three strokes
off Levy's pace.
Levy has played and done
well in several national tour-
naments, many of them pres-
tigious American Junior Golf

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