Saturday, March 19
Oakcreek Country Club<br>Sedona, Ariz.
Montana
at
Red Rocks Invitational
Montana takes on Sedona, competing in Red Rocks Invitational
3/17/2022 11:02:00 AM | Golf
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Montana women's golf team is on the road for the second-straight weekend to compete in the Red Rocks Invitational in Sedona, Ariz. The team will compete at the Oakcreek Country Club on Saturday and Sunday.
The Red Rocks Invitational consists of 19 teams, eight of which are Big Sky foes: Northern Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Weber State. The teams will compete in three rounds, with the first two taking place on Saturday and the third round taking place on Sunday. Tee times are at 9:15 a.m. (MT). Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament. Fans may find the link on gogriz.com.
Montana comes off a weekend in St. George, Utah, where the team shot rounds of 321, 326, 312, placing 14th overall in the Lady Thunderbird Invitational.
Going into this weekend's tournament, head coach Kris Nord expresses how the team is feeling and where they're headed after the team's past two tournaments in Palm Springs and in Utah. "I think there's a little frustration with our scores. Going back to Palm Springs, everybody hit the ball well and scored better. It wasn't quite the same case in St George."
"The goal for this weekend is to take it shot by shot and do the best we can. We've had a little bit more play under our belts so it will get better. We need to putt better and we need to trust our swing sets," said Nord.
Since it's early in the season, Nord decided to change up the lineup and bring new faces to give everyone a chance. The lineup consists of senior Kylie Esh, juniors Jessica Ponce and Emmy Sundby, and sophomores Meredith Boos and Madison Cecil.
Though Nord won't be traveling with the team this weekend, the Griz are in good hands with assistant coach Jim Mee, who is in his second year with UM.
"I've never been down to the course in Sedona, so it'll be fun to learn it with the girls," said Mee.
For the course itself, Nord has had plentiful experience at the Oakcreek Country Club. "It's a really tough field, it's a tough golf course. This might be the strongest field we play all season. It's a little intimidating, but you have to just embrace it. Embrace the pressure," Nord said.
Esh comes off a weekend in St. George where she finished tied for 61st. The Grizzly got increasingly better throughout the weekend, scoring 82-80-78.
"She started to play better at the end of the St. George trip so we're excited to see her with another week on the grass and see how well she plays," said Mee.
Ponce comes off a weekend of leading the Griz in St. George, tying for 33rd overall. The junior finished the invitational scoring 76-79-78.
"Jessica played well last week so it will be nice to see her get another week on grass as well," said Mee.
As for Sundby, Boos and Cecil, this will be their first time competing since the Dual in the Desert, which took place in Palm Springs.
Montana will be back in action in two weeks, competing in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Ariz. The tournament will take place at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Course April 4-5.
The Red Rocks Invitational consists of 19 teams, eight of which are Big Sky foes: Northern Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Weber State. The teams will compete in three rounds, with the first two taking place on Saturday and the third round taking place on Sunday. Tee times are at 9:15 a.m. (MT). Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament. Fans may find the link on gogriz.com.
Montana comes off a weekend in St. George, Utah, where the team shot rounds of 321, 326, 312, placing 14th overall in the Lady Thunderbird Invitational.
Going into this weekend's tournament, head coach Kris Nord expresses how the team is feeling and where they're headed after the team's past two tournaments in Palm Springs and in Utah. "I think there's a little frustration with our scores. Going back to Palm Springs, everybody hit the ball well and scored better. It wasn't quite the same case in St George."
"The goal for this weekend is to take it shot by shot and do the best we can. We've had a little bit more play under our belts so it will get better. We need to putt better and we need to trust our swing sets," said Nord.
Since it's early in the season, Nord decided to change up the lineup and bring new faces to give everyone a chance. The lineup consists of senior Kylie Esh, juniors Jessica Ponce and Emmy Sundby, and sophomores Meredith Boos and Madison Cecil.
Though Nord won't be traveling with the team this weekend, the Griz are in good hands with assistant coach Jim Mee, who is in his second year with UM.
"I've never been down to the course in Sedona, so it'll be fun to learn it with the girls," said Mee.
For the course itself, Nord has had plentiful experience at the Oakcreek Country Club. "It's a really tough field, it's a tough golf course. This might be the strongest field we play all season. It's a little intimidating, but you have to just embrace it. Embrace the pressure," Nord said.
Esh comes off a weekend in St. George where she finished tied for 61st. The Grizzly got increasingly better throughout the weekend, scoring 82-80-78.
"She started to play better at the end of the St. George trip so we're excited to see her with another week on the grass and see how well she plays," said Mee.
Ponce comes off a weekend of leading the Griz in St. George, tying for 33rd overall. The junior finished the invitational scoring 76-79-78.
"Jessica played well last week so it will be nice to see her get another week on grass as well," said Mee.
As for Sundby, Boos and Cecil, this will be their first time competing since the Dual in the Desert, which took place in Palm Springs.
Montana will be back in action in two weeks, competing in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Ariz. The tournament will take place at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Course April 4-5.
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