Griz golfers off to Big Sky Championship

The Montana women's golf team will reach the endpoint of its fall and spring seasons when it competes next week at the Big Sky Conference Championship.

The three-day event will be held Monday through Wednesday at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., with 18 holes being played each day.

The Grizzlies will compete with a lineup of senior Tricia Joyce (1), freshman Raina Ports (2), junior Madison Cecil (3), senior Jessica Ponce (4) and sophomore Kylie Franklin (5).

Montana will be trying for its first top-five Big Sky finish since 2015, when scores of 307, 302 and 304 could still result in a top-five finish.

"Now shooting low 300s will keep you out of the last two spots," said coach Kris Nord, who watched last year as Northern Arizona won the title with rounds of 288, 287 and 297.

Third-place Weber State posted scores of 293, 297 and 296 and still finished 14 strokes off the lead.

"It's gotten better across the board," said Nord about golf in the Big Sky. "A lot more schools can go out and shoot good scores now.

"It's the long-term effect of opportunities for women in golf. It used to be if you shot in the 70s, you'd get recruited. Now you have to shoot in the low-to-mid 70s to get interest."

When Montana won its lone Big Sky title, in 2006, the Grizzlies shot a three-round total of 904 (298-305-301).

In 2012, Montana's score of 903 resulted in a fourth-place finish. The Grizzlies' 902 in 2016 tied for eighth. In other words, in the world of Big Sky women's golf, if you're standing still, you're falling behind.

Montana will take a Golfstat ranking of 221 to Arizona, which has the Grizzlies sitting ninth out of 10 Big Sky teams on paper.

Sacramento State, at No. 58 in the rankings, goes into championship week as the heavy favorite, with Northern Arizona (121) and Weber State (137) also ranked in the top 150.

"Realistically, a championship for us would be to finish in the top third. We could also play real well and finish fifth," said Nord.

Montana placed eighth last year with scores of 309, 305 and 300 as Ponce (72-75-73) tied for sixth overall. It was the best finish for a Grizzly since Baylee Barckley tied for fifth in 2016.

Montana goes to Scottsdale with two of its golfers playing their best golf of the year.

Joyce tied for 20th at the Bobcat Spring Invitational earlier this week with scores of 77, 76 and 73. Raina Ports shot rounds of 77, 76 and 74 to tie for 22nd.

Ports dropped her season average down to a team-leading 77.83, one of the best averages by a freshman in program history. Joyce ranks second at 78.50.

Cecil (78.57), Franklin (79.33) and Ponce (79.96) all have season averages below 80. All three had at least one round in the 80s at the Bobcat Spring Invitational.

"All three of them had some rounds that were bad for them last week and they turned it around, which was good to see," said Nord.

Ponce opened with an 88, then went 78-78. Cecil answered an 82 with a 75, Franklin followed two rounds in the low 80s with one in the 70s.

"What we'd love to see is them not making the same misses, the same mistakes twice or tournament after tournament in terms of where their shots are missing," said Nord.

"We're asking them to make a different mistake. Get out of the zones they are in. If they do that, they will shoot well."

Joyce didn't play a hole worse than bogey at the 54-hole Bobcat Spring Invitational. Ports had two double bogeys, two triple bogeys. She played the other 50 holes at 1-over.

"Really impressed with Tricia and Raina. They had some big holes and would follow it with a birdie or a string of pars, which is what you have to do to get back on track," said Nord.

"We've got to have four clicking to be relevant (next week). It would be nice to have everyone under 75. I'd stretch it to 76 given we haven't played or practiced as much as we would have liked."

The Big Sky Championship had a four-year run at Boulder City, Nev., before being played in Molalla, Ore., in April 2021.

This will be the second year it's been held at Talking Stick.

"It's a lot like the course we just played," said Nord, whose team competed at the Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Ariz., earlier this week.

"The fairways are for the most part forgiving, but if you miss them you're in trouble. You can't be on the tee and think, I'll just swing away. You have to have a specific target and keep it in play.

"If you don't keep it in play, you're going to shoot a big number. Once you get out in the rocks and cactus, it's not forgiving at all. There is usually not a shot. Then you have to make some putts."

The first golfers, one from Idaho, one from Weber State, will tee off at 8 a.m. (MT) on Monday. The Grizzlies will tee off between 9:40 a.m. (Franklin) and 10:20 a.m. (Joyce).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Madison Cecil

Kylie Franklin

Tricia Joyce

Jessica Ponce

Raina Ports

University of Montana Athletics