Montana State University
Bobcat Desert Classic
Cats Host Bobcat Desert Classic in Goodyear Beginning Monday
4/7/2024 3:24:00 PM | Women's Golf
Montana State ready for one final tune-up in Arizona before Big Sky Championships
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Montana State golf concludes their regular season this week with one of the signature tournaments on the spring calendar, hosting the Bobcat Desert Classic at Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona.
The three-day, 54-hole event begins Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. PT/9:00 a.m. MT, and continues through Wednesday.
"Obviously excited—it's kind of our home event that we've been hosting for several years, so we sort of consider this our home course," head coach Brittany Basye said. "A few of them have played this course a few times, so looking for some good stuff. We're looking to build on the last tournament—we all know a few things that we've been specifically working on the last couple days."
The Bobcat Desert Classic marks the final opportunity for the Bobcats to compete ahead of next week's 2024 Big Sky Conference Championships, held at The Wigwam in nearby Litchfield Park, Arizona.
"We've got a great field here.," Basye said. "17 teams, just under 100 players—we need to play well. We need to play well so that our confidence is on a high note going into conference, because we play here, we've got three days to practice, and then we've got conference. I'd really like to finish this tournament with them confident with their games before we have a couple more days to fine-tune, and then it's go-time for conference."
The par 72 course, which has hosted the Cats' "home" tournament for over ten years, is measured at 6,180 yards.
17 teams will compete this week in Goodyear, with participating squads including: Weber State, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Portland State, Grand Canyon, Washington State, Montana, Seattle, Boise State, Idaho, Utah Tech, Utah Valley, Wyoming, UT Rio Grande Valley, Idaho State, and Cal Baptist.
Montana State is looking to bounce back from a couple down tournaments that followed a record-breaking outing in Phoenix over the final weekend in February.
"We need to finish this tournament on a high note," Basye said. "We need to keep working on the things we've been working on all spring—the mental toughness, the physical toughness, being able to let go of the bad shots and then keep looking forward. We've got family here, we've got friends here—it's a fun event because it's our home event. The weather is going to be beautiful and the course is in great shape—we just need to go out and play golf and compete."
The 98-player field includes the usual Cats' five-player lineup as of late: Lauren Greeny, Scarlet Weidig, Maddie Montoya, Hannah Boraas, and Eva Heinz, plus Jordan Briggs and Belle Brezovski competing as individuals.
Brezovski will get the action started for the Cats at 9:30 a.m. PT, with Eva Heinz not far behind at 9:39 a.m. PT.
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