Griz head to Arizona to continue spring season

The Montana women's golf team, which opened its championship season at the Bowling Green Intercollegiate last month, will play its lone March tournament this week in Sedona, Ariz.

The Grizzlies will be one of a dozen teams that will send golfers to compete at the three-day, 54-hole Red Rocks Invitational at Oakcreek Country Club.

Montana has been a regular at the tournament, playing every edition since the spring of 2018, with nasty weather reducing last year's event to a single round played over multiple days.

This year's tournament, with one round per day, Friday through Sunday, will be played under mostly sunny skies, with each day forecasted to reach the mid-70s by the afternoon.

"It should be a very different experience than last year," said coach Jimmy Mee, whose team shot a 325 last March in cold, wet conditions.

Montana will compete this week with Bella Johnson (1), Hannah Ports (2), Raina Ports (3), Kate Bogenschutz (4) and Katie Lewis (5).

The line-up reflects the team's scoring at the Bowling Green Intercollegiate, where Johnson led the way with rounds of 74, 80 and 76.

It was the third consecutive tournament, dating back to the fall, that Johnson has led the Grizzlies, either shared or outright.

"She had a big-time attitude change halfway through the fall season," said Mee. "She was getting really worked up. She needed to start having fun again. She did and started being herself again.

"You can't change your swing overnight but you can change your attitude overnight. Good things can happen. She's smiling and having fun on the golf course again and is playing unbelievable."

Her run started at the Grizzlies' home tournament, the Sun Mountain Intercollegiate at The Ranch Club, where she carded scores of 76, 72 and 72.

At the French Broad Collegiate Invitational in North Carolina in late October, she and Lewis tied for 25th overall.

She tied for 46th at Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz., last month as Montana shook some winter rust off while playing in a strong field.

"She plays very naturally, knows what her shot is and hits it and owns it," said Mee. "She drives it really well, so she gives herself a lot of scoring clubs.

"She also made a putter change and went from a blade to a mallet. She started rolling it a lot better."

Montana has had mixed results at Red Rocks. The Grizzlies' only top-half finish came in 2018, when they tied for sixth out of 18 teams with rounds of 313, 323 and 308.

Montana shot 36 strokes better in 2024 but finished 15th out of 18 with rounds of 307, 296 and 305, the team result varying based on the strength of the field and the playing conditions.

That was the tournament when Raina Ports, the overall leader as play entered the final nine holes of the final round, tied for fourth with scores of 71, 70 and 75.

"The course is tree-lined but not overly long. If you hit your driver well and straight, you're going to have scoring club after scoring club after scoring club," said Mee.

"This is a good course for a lot of our team. If you hit your driver well, you're going to play well. You're going to give yourself a lot of chances to make birdies."

Host Northern Arizona and Weber State will be in the field. The Lumberjacks were picked second in the Big Sky preseason poll, the Wildcats fourth, with Montana seventh.

Montana will play three straight weeks in April, concluding with the Big Sky Conference Championship at Wigwam Golf Course from April 20-22.

Montana also will play at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic (April 7-8) and the Bobcat Desert Classic (April 13-15).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kate Bogenschutz

Bella Johnson

Katie Lewis

Hannah Ports

Raina Ports

University of Montana Athletics