Montana finishes eighth at Big Sky championship

Friday, April 21

Boulder City, Nev.

Montana

Big Sky Conference Championships

4/23/2017 6:37:00 PM | Golf

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

The Montana women's golf team shot a final-round 313 on Sunday to finish eighth at the Big Sky Conference championship, which was held at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.

The Grizzlies, who were playing with one senior in the lineup, opened the tournament with a 328 on Friday, then shot a 308 on Saturday to move into eighth, where they remained after Sunday's round.

"For the most part it was a really good tournament," said coach Matt Higgins. "There were a lot of encouraging things to build on for the summer and going into next fall."

After finishing second at the championship six of the last eight years, Sacramento State finally ascended to the top, defeating defending champion Idaho in a playoff for its first title since 2007.

Kari Opatz (83-72-75) led Montana the final two rounds, playing her last 36 holes at 3-over after opening with an 83 on Friday. She tied for 11th overall and was the only Grizzly in the top 30.

Baylee Barckley (84-81-77) and Teigan Avery (85-85-79) also had final-round scores in the 70s on Sunday.

Hailey Hoagland (76-78-86) was on track to post three rounds in the 70s, but the expected heavy winds finally arrived when Montana was on the 15th. Hoagland played the final three holes at 7-over to card an 86 and fall to 33rd in the standings.

"We had some big numbers, and that hurt us," said Higgins. "We didn't finish our rounds the last couple of days, and that will always hurt you if you can't finish."

Northern Arizona's Sofia Anokhina (72-71-75) earned medalist honors at 2-over, three strokes clear of the field.

The tournament closes out the year for Montana, which will return its top four scorers next year in Opatz, Hoagland, Avery and Barckley. Three other underclassmen also will return.

"The girls who are returning are already excited to get out there next fall and show they can be near the top," Higgins said.

"The team grew this year, and that's what you want to see. The players who will be returning got a lot of experience this year, so we're going to have a bunch of good leaders next year."