(Editor's note: MSUB Athletics release)
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week Kinsey Irvin posted career lows for the third straight week, highlighting the Montana State University Billings women’s golf team’s final round at the RJGA Shootout at Estrella on Tuesday at Golf Club of Estrella.
Irvin shot a career-best 73, as she was just 1-over-par on the par-72, 6,087-yard course layout. Irvin’s best-ever collegiate round gave her a two-round score of 152 – also a collegiate personal best – and moved her up the leaderboard into a tie for 20th place to finish the tournament.
“I’m happy with the way today went, but there are still a few shots I’d like to have back like the three-putt on one of my last holes,” said Irvin. “Yesterday I struggled on the first two holes and I wasn’t able to come back from that. Today I got off to a good start and that’s what really helped me.”
Irvin made birdie on her first hole of the day and never looked back, finishing her round with a pair of birdies, three bogeys, and 13 pars. Her performance was tied for the ninth-best round in MSUB women’s golf history, and her two-round total of 152 was tied for the 14th-best tournament performance in school history. “Kinsey was in total control of her game today,” said Yellowjacket assistant coach Steven Falls Down. “I am very proud of her and you can see all the hard work she has put into her game starting to pay off.”
As a team the Yellowjacket women improved by four strokes between rounds, shooting a 328 on Tuesday for a two-round total of 660 (332-328). MSUB finished in 19th place among the 19 teams competing. “We did a better job preparing ourselves to start our round today,” Falls Down said. “As a team we struggled on our approach shots and didn’t give ourselves opportunities to score.”
Senior Tierney Messmer tied for 51st place, with a two-round score of 160 (78-82). Messmer finished the tournament with three birdies, and shot back-to-back nines of 41 on Tuesday to close the event.
Avery Gill completed the first tournament of her fall season with a score of 172 (89-83) and wound up in a tie for 93rd place. Gill matched Irvin for the most improved Yellowjacket, cutting off six strokes between rounds and posting a birdie on the par-5, 501-yard 13th hole on Tuesday.
Senior Jalen Wagner finished the event with a score of 178 (87-91) for 98th place, and freshman Brennan Larson was close behind with a 182 (88-94) to take 101st.
Raquel Prado of Point Loma Nazarene, Breann Horn of Cal State San Marcos, and Drishti Karumbaya of Cal State East Bay all tied for first place with identical two-round scores of 143 among the field of 103 golfers. Prado won a seven-hole playoff to claim medalist honors. Cal State San Marcos won the team title with a two-round score of 598 (305-293), holding off second-place Embry-Riddle by six strokes.
Competing locally at the Beartooth Invitational were five Yellowjacket women who did not make the trip to Arizona. Freshman Meilyn Armstrong was the team’s top finisher at the event, climbing the leaderboard into a tie for sixth place with a two-round total of 172 (88-84). Armstrong cut off four strokes between rounds, using a pair of birdies on Tuesday to shoot an 84.
Karissa Tranas finished her first collegiate event tied for 12th place, after posting a two-round score of 177 (89-88). The true freshman made six pars on Tuesday, improving her score by a single stroke.
Fellow freshman Sierra Brubaker also showed improvement between rounds, cutting off four strokes to finish in a tie for 19th place with a total of 186 (95-91). Adessa Lundberg tied for 24th place with a mark of 194 (97-97), and Amanda King tied for 33rd among the field of 35 players finishing with a two-round total of 204 (102-102).
Claire Wright of Rocky Mountain College maintained her Day 1 lead and won medalist honors, shooting a two-round score of 148 (72-76). Wright’s Battlin’ Bears took the team title, with a two-round score of 675 (335-340). The Yellowjackets meanwhile finished in fourth place with a two-round team score of 729 (369-360).
The Yellowjackets’ final tournament of the fall season is the Westminster Wasatch Invitational, set for Oct. 8-9 at Glenmoor Golf Club in Jordan, Utah.
Meantime, Blake Finn shot a 1-under-par 71 on Tuesday at Loomis Trail Golf Club, helping lead the Montana State University Billings men’s golf team to a second-place finish at the Western Washington University Invitational.
Finn was nearly flawless on the par-72, 7,085-yard course layout, with just one bogey which he offset with a pair of birdies en route to matching the lowest round of his collegiate career.
Finn’s round got off to a hot start, as he made par on his first seven holes before back-to-back birdies on the par-4, 382-yard ninth and par-4, 433-yard 10th holes. His lone miscue was a bogey on the par-4, 472-yard 17th, but he righted the ship and finished his round with back-to-back pars to stay in the top-10 among the field of 55 players. Finn wrapped up the event with a career-best two-round score of 148 (77-71). “I started out with seven pars in-a-row and got going with a good birdie on 9 followed by a chip-in birdie on 10,” said Finn. “I then parred the next six holes with only a bogey on 17. I scrambled really well – I was 6-for-6 scrambling today.”
Finn’s stellar performance helped the Yellowjacket men shoot a team score of 293 on Tuesday and a two-round total of 598, as they finished just two strokes behind tournament champion Chico State University (596). The Yellowjackets were the top-performing Great Northwest Athletic Conference team at the event, as MSUB out-played third-place Simon Fraser (599), sixth-place Western Washington (603), eighth-place Saint Martin’s (620) and ninth-place Northwest Nazarene (632). “I am super pumped for this group,” said Yellowjacket head coach Adam Buie. “We had a really good week here and solid showings in both tournaments. We should be in solid position when the first regional rankings come out, and I am excited to see where we go from here.”
Liam Clancy had a similarly impressive showing on Tuesday, finishing just one stroke behind Finn in a tie for 10th place with a two-round score of 149 (77-72). Clancy’s even-par 72 on Tuesday contained three birdies and three bogeys, and he finished the event with a stretch of 2-under-par over his final 11 holes including a 1-under-par 35 on the back-nine. Overall Clancy had seven birdies in the two-round tournament.
Senior Riley Lawrence matched Clancy, also tying for 10th place with a two-round score of 149 (73-76). Lawrence recovered from back-to-back double bogeys to close out the front-nine, and finished the event strong with three birdies on his way to a 2-under-par 34 on the back-nine on Tuesday.
Senior Caleb Trost was also in the upper half of competitors, tying for 25th place with a 152 (78-74). Trost had nothing worse than a bogey on his scorecard on Tuesday, and finished the tournament strong at 1-under-par over his final seven holes. His lone birdie on the day came on the par-4, 358-yard 13th hole.
Also competing for the Yellowjackets was sophomore Kevin Kolb, who tied for 42nd place with a two-round score of 160 (78-82). Kolb’s final round included a birdie on the par-5, 506-yard 11th hole.
Keith Ng of Hawaii Hilo won the tournament with a two-round score of 143 (71-72), as he held off second-place Keita Okada of Hawaii Pacific by a single stroke.
Also competing on Tuesday were six Yellowjackets who did not make the trip to Washington, at the Beartooth Invitational in Laurel. The second group of Yellowjacket men tied for fourth place among the field of six teams with a two-round score of 610 (305-305).
Dawson Strobel was the Yellowjackets’ top finisher at the event, posting a two-round total of 149 (75-74) to take sixth place among the field of 39 competitors. Strobel carded three birdies on Tuesday, and posted 1-over-par 37s on both the front-nine and the back-nine.
Riley Kaercher was one stroke behind Strobel, posting back-to-back rounds of 75 for a two-round mark of 150 and a tie for seventh place. Kaercher had three birdies on Tuesday, each of which came on a stellar back-nine where the senior posted a 1-under-par 35.
Brady Cady climbed four spots up the leaderboard between rounds, and finished in 17th place in his first MSUB tournament. After shooting a 78 on Monday, Cady posted a 76 in Round 2 for a two-round total of 154.
Paul O’Neil tied for 20th place on his home course, staying consistent with a two-round score of 157 (78-79). Liam O’Halloran was close behind O’Neil in a tie for 24th place, and showed the most improvement on the team cutting off five strokes on his way to a 159 (82-77). O’Halloran finished the day with two birdies, as he took advantage of the par-5 fourth and par-5 11th holes.
Quinn Haigwood wrapped up his first collegiate tournament in a tie for 24th place as well, as he shot a two-round score of 159 (77-82). Both of Haigwood’s birdies came on the back-nine, as did both of O’Neil’s.
MSUB’s final tournament of the fall season is the Chico State Invitational, which is set for Oct. 11-12 at The Links at Rolling Hills in Corning, Calif.
MEN - Western Washington Invitational
Final Results – September 28, 2021
Loomis Trail Golf Club – Blaine, Washington
Team – 1. Chico State University, 596 (306-290); 2. MSU Billings, 598 (305-293). Individuals – 1. Keith Ng, Hawaii Hilo, 143 (71-72); T6. Blake Finn, MSUB, 148 (77-71); T10. Liam Clancy, MSUB, 149 (77-72); T10. Riley Lawrence, MSUB, 149 (73-76); T25. Caleb Trost, MSUB, 152 (78-74); T42. Kevin Kolb, MSUB, 160 (78-82).
Beartooth Invitational
Final Results – September 28, 2021
Laurel Golf Club – Laurel, Montana
Team – 1. Rocky Mountain College, 591 (291-300); T4. MSU Billings, 610 (305-305). Individuals – T1. Cash Golden, RMC, 144 (73-71); T1. Haydn Driver*, RMC, 144 (72-72); 6. Dawson Strobel, MSUB, 149 (75-74); T7. Riley Kaercher, MSUB, 150 (75-75); 17. Brady Cady, MSUB (IND), 154 (78-76); T20. Paul O’Neil, MSUB, 157 (78-79); T24. Liam O’Halloran, MSUB, 159 (82-77); T24. Quinn Haigwood, MSUB, 159 (77-82).
*Won Playoff Hole
WOMEN - RJGA Shootout at Estrella
Final Results – September 28, 2021
Golf Club of Estrella – Goodyear, Arizona
Team – 1. Cal State San Marcos, 598 (305-293); 19. MSU Billings, 661 (332-329). Individuals – 1. Raquel Prado*, Point Loma, 143 (75-68); Breann Horn, CSU San Marcos, 143 (73-70); T1. Drishti Karumbaya, CSU East Bay, 143 (68-75); T20. Kinsey Irvin, MSUB, 152 (79-73); T51. Tierney Messmer, MSUB, 160 (78-80); T93. Avery Gill, MSUB, 172 (89-83); T98. Jalen Wagner, MSUB, 178 (87-91); 101. Brennan Larson, MSUB, 182 (88-94).
*Won 7-Hole Playoff
Beartooth Invitational
Final Results – September 28, 2021
Laurel Golf Club – Laurel, Montana
Team – 1. Rocky Mountain College, 675 (335-340); 4. MSU Billings, 729 (369-360). Individuals – 1. Claire Wright, RMC, 148 (72-76); T6. Meilyn Armstrong, MSUB, 172 (88-84); T12. Karissa Tranas, MSUB, 177 (89-88); T19. Sierra Brubaker, MSUB, 186 (95-91); T24. Adessa Lundberg, MSUB, 194 (97-97); T33. Amanda King, MSUB, 204 (102-102).
