(Editor’s note: Montana State University press release)
BOZEMAN – One tournament remains on the Montana State golf schedule as the Bobcats get set to compete in the Big Sky Championship in Boulder City, Nevada, at Boulder Creek Golf Club. The tournament begins on Friday, April 19, and consists of three 18-hole rounds that take place through Sunday.
The Bobcats finished eighth at the 2018 Big Sky Championship by shooting a 920 as a team. Montana State opened the meet with a 315 in the first round, then followed the first 18 holes with scores of 301 and 304. MSU is set to send four golfers with prior experience to a course that can have its conditions change drastically depending on the weather.
“Everybody has played the course, kind of like our last tournament, except for Sofia,” Montana State head coach Brittany Basye said. “I think the biggest thing for this golf course is prep work. The golf course can play different depending upon the wind and it looks like it definitely will be. We’ll have to focus on some knockdowns and finding out landing spots with the wind. You can see a 5-10 stroke difference depending on the wind.”
Representing the Bobcats in the final tournament of the season will be Delaney Elliott, Kelly Hooper, Sofia Rodriguez Todd, Clare Dittemore and Coral Schulz.
The five are MSU’s top scorers this season. Elliott and Hooper each average under 77 strokes per round. Schulz and Rodriguez Todd each average under a 79 per round, while Dittemore holds a 79-stroke scoring average.
Dittemore earned the Bobcats’ top finish at the Big Sky Championship a season ago. The Bobcat senior finished tied for 26th overall behind an 11-over-par 227. Dittemore’s best 18-hole score of the tournament was a 1-under 71 she fired in the second round.
Elliott, Hooper and Schulz also have experience at the Boulder Creek course. Elliott and Hooper have represented MSU the last two seasons at the Big Sky Championship. Hooper had the best finish on the team as a freshman when she tied for 27th at the 2017 meet. Elliott has tied for 34th and tied for 31st in back-to-back appearances. Schulz took 57th individually as a freshman in 2017.
Rodriguez Todd will make her debut at a Big Sky Championship tournament.
“Putting and knockdowns will be big for us to work on once we get there,” Basye said. “Most of them have played the course. I think we’re ready, we’ve got to have a really good practice when we get to Boulder City.”
The Bobcats are the ninth-highest rated team among Big Sky members heading into the conference tournament in the most recent Golfstat rankings. The Bobcats average 309.69 strokes per round as a team.
The Big Sky Championship tees off at 8 a.m. MDT in Boulder City on Friday. Montana State will play alongside golfers from Eastern Washington and Montana during the first round of action. The second round of golf takes place Saturday and the final round of the tournament is slated to come to a close on Sunday.
“It’s kind of nice that we will be playing 18 holes each day,” Basye said. “It’s not all day golf. It’s almost relaxing in a way because the girls know they can go give it all they got for 18 holes. We’ve been starting with a shaky 18, then we come back with a good second round 18. I’m hoping we can get a good team score under our belt in the first round. It will get us in a good position for the second round.”
The tournament field will compete on a course that features a par 72 and 6,395-yard layout. Pairings, lineup information and scores will be available throughout the meet on golfstatresults.com.
