Grizzlies struggle on opening day in Sedona
3/18/2023 9:09:00 PM | Golf
The Montana women's golf team shot rounds of 320 and 314 on Saturday as the 54-hole Red Rocks Invitational got under way at Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Ariz.
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The Grizzlies will go into Sunday's final 18 holes starting in 20th place out of 20 teams in a strong field that is topped by Delaware (290-292), Gonzaga (293-295) and Grand Canyon (303-287).
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"Just mental mistakes," said assistant coach Jim Mee, who is accompanying the Grizzlies this weekend. "Started out playing very scared, then couldn't quite shake it for the rest of the day.
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"It's a good golf course. You've got to hit good shots in order to score. We were just very timid to start."
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Jessica Ponce (82-76) and Kylie Franklin (79-79) are tied for 76th, Tricia Joyce (80-80) is tied for 88th, Raina Ports (82-79) is tied for 92nd, Madison Cecil (79-83) is tied for 95th.
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"There was some good golf, then we'd make some mental mistakes or we'd get a bad break, and we didn't do a very good job of accepting that it was a bad break and letting it go," said Mee.
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"It would get compounded and compounded, and before you know it you're way above par. And it was our first 36-hole walking event of the year, so you could see a little bit of fatigue set in."
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Ponce played both the front and back nine at 5-over in Saturday's opening round. She had five bogeys and a birdie on the par-4 17th for her second 18, her best scoring round of the spring at 76.
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"Jess did a really good job of letting go," said Mee. "She was kind of tentative to start. I caught her on her second-to-last hole and said, hey, let's be aggressive and commit and whatever happens, happens.
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"She did a really good job of shaking off what she had go wrong in the first round and starting making some aggressive swings and aggressive putts. It was really cool to see her flip it around."
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Delaware's Alisa Khokhlova (72-69) leads the field. She was one of four golfers to play the opening 36 holes under par.
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The Grizzlies will go into Sunday's final 18 holes starting in 20th place out of 20 teams in a strong field that is topped by Delaware (290-292), Gonzaga (293-295) and Grand Canyon (303-287).
Â
"Just mental mistakes," said assistant coach Jim Mee, who is accompanying the Grizzlies this weekend. "Started out playing very scared, then couldn't quite shake it for the rest of the day.
Â
"It's a good golf course. You've got to hit good shots in order to score. We were just very timid to start."
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Jessica Ponce (82-76) and Kylie Franklin (79-79) are tied for 76th, Tricia Joyce (80-80) is tied for 88th, Raina Ports (82-79) is tied for 92nd, Madison Cecil (79-83) is tied for 95th.
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"There was some good golf, then we'd make some mental mistakes or we'd get a bad break, and we didn't do a very good job of accepting that it was a bad break and letting it go," said Mee.
Â
"It would get compounded and compounded, and before you know it you're way above par. And it was our first 36-hole walking event of the year, so you could see a little bit of fatigue set in."
Â
Ponce played both the front and back nine at 5-over in Saturday's opening round. She had five bogeys and a birdie on the par-4 17th for her second 18, her best scoring round of the spring at 76.
Â
"Jess did a really good job of letting go," said Mee. "She was kind of tentative to start. I caught her on her second-to-last hole and said, hey, let's be aggressive and commit and whatever happens, happens.
Â
"She did a really good job of shaking off what she had go wrong in the first round and starting making some aggressive swings and aggressive putts. It was really cool to see her flip it around."
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Delaware's Alisa Khokhlova (72-69) leads the field. She was one of four golfers to play the opening 36 holes under par.
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