Golf team back in action in Idaho

The ink hardly dry on its scorecards from the Battle at Old Works, the Montana women's golf team will travel to northern Idaho this week to compete in the two-day Challenge at Coeur d'Alene Resort.

The small tournament, which includes only Montana, host Eastern Washington, Montana State and Idaho State, will be played on Monday and Tuesday, with 18 holes each day.

While the field is small and regional, the Grizzlies' motivation to perform well should be high.

The Eagles, with rounds of 312, 301 and 295, won last week's Battle at Old Works in Anaconda, topping North Dakota State in a playoff. Montana State placed third, 17 strokes better than Montana, which finished seventh, ahead of only Idaho State.

"Nobody's happy with how last week went. Hopefully we can have a little redemption and play better," said coach Kris Nord, whose team shot rounds of 317, 323 and 309 at Old Works.

Montana's full roster of eight players will be making the trip, with three competing as individuals.

Making the five-player lineup are senior Baylee Barckley at No. 1, junior Teigan Avery at No. 2, freshman Kylie Esh at No. 3, freshman Allison Sobol at No. 4 and sophomore Faith D'Ortenzio at No. 5.

"It's a resort course, so it should be better to score on for us," said Nord. "It's not as long (as Old Works) and you get a lot of help from the contours of the course that keep the ball in the fairway. It's a fun course."

Montana's top three finishers at Old Works were all freshmen, with Esh the only player to break 80 in all three rounds. She carded scores of 78, 79 and 76 to tie for 13th in her first collegiate tournament.

Brooklyn Van Bebber (84-80-77) tied for 29th, Sobol (79-82-81) tied for 32nd.

"Kylie is working on a major issue with her driver. She's trying to get more distance, which means making some changes. Given that she's working on those changes and still posting good scores, I'm happy as heck for her," said Nord.

"She easily could have been low 70s on a couple of her rounds, and I can say the same for Brooklyn and Allison. They are all right there. I'd love for them to go out and post some scores that are reflective of how well they are hitting the ball."

Barckley started well at Old Works, opening with a 76, before playing rounds of 82 and 85. Avery did the opposite, going 88 and 89 on Monday before righting things on Tuesday and shooting a 75, the best score recorded by a Grizzly at the tournament.

D'Ortenzio closed with rounds of 79 and 78. That, combined with her qualifying performance at a practice late last week, gave her the final spot in the lineup over Van Bebber.

But all eight players will be competing at Coeur d'Alene and all of the results will be used to determine who makes the next trip, to the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif., in less than two weeks.

"Brooklyn's score at No. 6 is just as important as Faith's score at No. 5 this week to determine who's going to California," said Nord.

"We'll use Coeur d'Alene and probably a couple of other qualifying days to determine the lineup that will travel to California."

Not only is this week's tournament small in numbers, it has nothing longer than 18 holes each day: a practice round on Sunday, then one round on both Monday and Tuesday.

Most tournaments squeeze 36 holes into its opening day, 18 more on the second, which can lead to tired players (and coaches) and golf that isn't the best.

"The 36-18 setup is not productive at all," said Nord. "You get a lack of focus and bodies that start to wear down by the second round, especially if it's tough course to walk, like Old Works.

"I prefer replicating what the conference championship and the NCAAs do. They never play more than 18 holes in day. It's silly to ask them to focus for 10 hours. It's just too much, so I'm excited about getting to play just 18 a day this week."

The Desert Intercollegiate will be played at the Classic Club on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 29-30.

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Players Mentioned

Teigan Avery

Baylee Barckley

Faith D'Ortenzio

Kylie Esh

Allison Sobol

Brooklyn Van Bebber

University of Montana Athletics