The Montana women’s golf team completed the opening day of the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on Apr. 7, shooting rounds of 312 and 308 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona. The Grizzlies are currently in 18th place out of a field of 20 teams.
The tournament features strong competition, including No. 22 Iowa State, which leads after two rounds with scores of 277 and 286. Iowa State holds a thirteen-stroke advantage over BYU.
Kate Bogenschutz continued her consistent performance for Montana, recording scores of 76 and 75 on the par-72 course. “She had a lot of really good bunker saves and putted the best on the team,” said coach Jimmy Mee. “She had some real critical five- to six-footers to stay in it at key times.” Raina Ports posted rounds of 74 and 78, while Bella Johnson finished with scores of 79 and then improved to a second-round score of 76, highlighted by three birdies over five holes.
Other team members included Hannah Ports (84-79) and Katie Lewis (83-84). Mee said, “There was some real steady play. The biggest thing was our putting. We didn’t finish holes as cleanly as we could have with some of the positions we put ourselves in.” He added, “We threw most of our shots away on the putting green, just missing some close putts. We need to tighten that up. If we can make a few putts tomorrow from three to five feet, we’ll be in business.”
Individually for Montana after two rounds: Bogenschutz is tied for sixty-first among one hundred sixteen golfers; Raina Ports is tied for sixty-seventh; Johnson is tied for eightieth; Hannah Ports is tied for one hundred fifth; Lewis is tied for one hundred tenth.
Iowa State leads followed by BYU, New Mexico State, Sacramento State—the Big Sky Conference favorite—and UNLV rounding out the top five teams after thirty-six holes played.
Eleven players are under par through thirty-six holes so far at Southern Dunes. The individual leaders include Iowa State’s Nichakorn Pinprayoon at ten-under par (65-69), Arizona State’s Kate Dillon at nine-under (68-67), and NMSU’s Emma Bunch at eight-under (68-68). The tournament will conclude Wednesday with eighteen more holes.
