ANACONDA — The 106th Montana Men's State Amateur golf championship tees off Thursday at Old Works and continues through Saturday.
A total of 192 golfers from around the state will compete in three divisions: State Amateur, Senior Amateur (55-over), and Super Senior Amateur (65-over).
Two-time defending State Am winner Joey Lovell of Bozeman will try to become the first player since Nathan Bailey to win three in a row. Bailey achieved the trifecta from 2010-2012, and it has only been done seven times over the last 100 years.
Other top competitors include Billings’ Joey Moore, fresh off a victory at the Fourth of July Tournament in Whitefish, Park City’s Bailey, and Livingston’s Brandon Davison.
Along with championships for each division, a number of qualifying golfers are also competing for the Barnett Cup and the Schwartz Cup.
The Barnett Cup is awarded to two golfers from the team with the lowest score after the first two rounds. The Steve Schwartz Cup is awarded to the low junior (18-under).
Missoula’s Kade McDonough is looking to become the first player in Montana history to win the Schwartz Cup three times. McDonough, the reigning Montana State Match Play champion, won it in each of the past two years.
Missoula's Bill Dunn will also be looking to win a third consecutive Senior Am title while Cory Bedell looks to capture a third straight Super Senior championship.
