Franklin shoots 76, Griz move up to 17th

Monday, April 3

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club; Maricopa, Ariz.

Montana

Wyoming Cowgirl Classic

4/4/2023 3:40:00 PM | Golf

Results

By: Montana Sports Information

On another windy day in Maricopa, Ariz., Montana closed the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic with a team score of 321 on Tuesday at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.

The Grizzlies moved up two spots to finish 17th at the 54-hole tournament on a day when only five of 20 teams broke 310. "It was tough out there. Really windy again today," said coach Jim Mee.

The day's highlight was the play of Kylie Franklin, who carded a 4-over 76, the best round by a Montana golfer at the tournament.

Starting her day on No. 15, Franklin used birdies on Nos. 7 and 9 to get to 2-over before a pair of late bogeys brought her in at 76. It was her best score since September.

"Kylie played really well," said Mee. "She putted really well. Her putter bailed her out when she had to get up and down, and she made a couple nice birdie putts."

Her strong final round allowed Franklin (78-82-76) to tie for 60th in the individual standings.

Her teammates all shot scores in the 80s on Tuesday.

Tricia Joyce (80-80-80) tied for 77th, Jessica Ponce (77-85-81) tied for 82nd, Madison Cecil (77-83-84) tied for 84th and Raina Ports (80-82-86) tied for 93rd.

Montana finished two strokes behind Eastern Washington, three ahead of Montana State, four up on Portland State two weeks out from the Big Sky Conference Championship.

"What you can really learn from days like today is if your short game is where it needs to be, because your short game can be exposed in this," Mee said.

"And it's a chance to work on your mental process. You really have to think through shots. How far is the actual, how far is it playing, what's the front edge?"

Sacramento State (282-297-306) won the team title by seven strokes over UNLV (282-304-306), by 11 over Long Beach State (292-305-299).

Sacramento State's Jennifer Koga (67-75-75) won the individual title. She was one stroke better than Hawaii's Hyeonji Kang (73-74-71) and UC Riverside's Tiffany Le (68-76-74).

Montana will compete next Sunday through Tuesday at the Bobcat Spring Invitational at the Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Ariz.

The Big Sky Championship will be held at the Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., April 17-19.