Friday, April 20
Boulder City, NV (Boulder Creek GC)
8 a.m.
Montana State University
at
Big Sky Conference Championship
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcat Golf Begins Title Pursuit at Big Sky Championship Friday
4/19/2018 3:36:00 PM | Women's Golf
The Montana State golf team opens play at the Big Sky Conference Championship on Friday
The Montana State golf team opens play at the Big Sky Conference Championship on Friday, April 20, with the Bobcats teeing off at 8:45 a.m. MDT in Boulder City, Nev. MSU and the conference field participate at Boulder Creek Golf Club for the third consecutive year, a course the Bobcats will see this weekend for the second time this season.
"We played at Boulder Creek in March so everybody has had a chance to see the golf course," Montana State head coach Brittany Basye said. "I think that was good because Lilly (Navarre) and Clare (Dittemore) hadn't seen it yet. For the other three, they should know the golf course like the back of their hand."
The Bobcats appeared in the Battle at Boulder Creek from March 5-6 and finished fifth out of 12 teams in the tournament. MSU wrapped up the meet with a three-round score of 956 as a team, a two-stroke improvement from its total at the 2017 Big Sky Championship.
Despite the team scores that average out to 319 strokes per round, MSU has had previous success on the championship course. The Bobcats' program-record 18-hole score (289), eighth best score (296) and top 20 ever score of 300 have been achieved at Boulder Creek. Senior Jaylee Tait's career-best score of 216 at the 2016 Big Sky Championship in Boulder City is the second lowest in school history and led to the then sophomore earning a tie for third place individually.
"The golf course is one that if you hit in the fairway, you're going to get some roll and you're going to have some shorter shots going into the greens," Basye said. "If you can take advantage of the Par 5s, not necessarily reaching them in 2 but get close enough where you can take advantage and get close enough for birdies, that will be huge.
"If it's windy, you'll see scores go 5-10 strokes higher just because of the wind," Basye said. "But if it's a perfect day out, you'll see low scores like a few years ago."
The Bobcats are led by 2018 Big Sky All-Conference Team selections in Tait and Kelly Hooper.
Hooper, a Third Team honoree, has MSU's top scoring average (75.00) this season. Hooper played in all nine meets and carded five rounds of even or under par. She has finished in the top 20 in the individual standings in six tournaments, while she snagged a Big Sky Golfer of the Week award and claimed medalist honors behind her playoff victory at the Grand Canyon Invitational on Feb. 25.
Tait, an Honorable Mention selection, is second in the Bobcats' lineup with her 75.38 scoring average. Tait played in eight tournaments during the regular season for MSU and led the Bobcats in rounds of even or under-par scores with seven.
Sophomore Delaney Elliott, junior Clare Dittemore and sophomore Lilly Navarre round out the Bobcats' lineup at the Big Sky Championship. Elliott (77.78), Dittemore (79.33) and Navarre (80.33) help make up MSU's four-player season scoring average of 306.81 strokes. That team scoring average would currently be the best the program has recorded since the golf team at Montana State began competition in 1993.
"We've got to focus on staying consistent," Basye said. "We need to play the best golf we've played all year. This is where it happens, we've got nothing to lose. As a team, I think we would be very happy with a top four finish. There are a couple teams in the conference that are playing amazing, but, golf is a funny game."
Montana State will golf alongside Eastern Washington and Montana competitors during the first round of play at the championship. The Boulder Creek Golf Course will feature a par 72 and 6,395-yard layout.
The 2018 Big Sky Golf Championship runs three days with the first group of three teams teeing off at 8 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each day will consist of a single round of 18 holes. The entire tournament field can be followed along with on golfstatresults.com.
"We played at Boulder Creek in March so everybody has had a chance to see the golf course," Montana State head coach Brittany Basye said. "I think that was good because Lilly (Navarre) and Clare (Dittemore) hadn't seen it yet. For the other three, they should know the golf course like the back of their hand."
The Bobcats appeared in the Battle at Boulder Creek from March 5-6 and finished fifth out of 12 teams in the tournament. MSU wrapped up the meet with a three-round score of 956 as a team, a two-stroke improvement from its total at the 2017 Big Sky Championship.
Despite the team scores that average out to 319 strokes per round, MSU has had previous success on the championship course. The Bobcats' program-record 18-hole score (289), eighth best score (296) and top 20 ever score of 300 have been achieved at Boulder Creek. Senior Jaylee Tait's career-best score of 216 at the 2016 Big Sky Championship in Boulder City is the second lowest in school history and led to the then sophomore earning a tie for third place individually.
"The golf course is one that if you hit in the fairway, you're going to get some roll and you're going to have some shorter shots going into the greens," Basye said. "If you can take advantage of the Par 5s, not necessarily reaching them in 2 but get close enough where you can take advantage and get close enough for birdies, that will be huge.
"If it's windy, you'll see scores go 5-10 strokes higher just because of the wind," Basye said. "But if it's a perfect day out, you'll see low scores like a few years ago."
The Bobcats are led by 2018 Big Sky All-Conference Team selections in Tait and Kelly Hooper.
Hooper, a Third Team honoree, has MSU's top scoring average (75.00) this season. Hooper played in all nine meets and carded five rounds of even or under par. She has finished in the top 20 in the individual standings in six tournaments, while she snagged a Big Sky Golfer of the Week award and claimed medalist honors behind her playoff victory at the Grand Canyon Invitational on Feb. 25.
Tait, an Honorable Mention selection, is second in the Bobcats' lineup with her 75.38 scoring average. Tait played in eight tournaments during the regular season for MSU and led the Bobcats in rounds of even or under-par scores with seven.
Sophomore Delaney Elliott, junior Clare Dittemore and sophomore Lilly Navarre round out the Bobcats' lineup at the Big Sky Championship. Elliott (77.78), Dittemore (79.33) and Navarre (80.33) help make up MSU's four-player season scoring average of 306.81 strokes. That team scoring average would currently be the best the program has recorded since the golf team at Montana State began competition in 1993.
"We've got to focus on staying consistent," Basye said. "We need to play the best golf we've played all year. This is where it happens, we've got nothing to lose. As a team, I think we would be very happy with a top four finish. There are a couple teams in the conference that are playing amazing, but, golf is a funny game."
Montana State will golf alongside Eastern Washington and Montana competitors during the first round of play at the championship. The Boulder Creek Golf Course will feature a par 72 and 6,395-yard layout.
The 2018 Big Sky Golf Championship runs three days with the first group of three teams teeing off at 8 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Each day will consist of a single round of 18 holes. The entire tournament field can be followed along with on golfstatresults.com.
Players Mentioned
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