All four golf teams head to state; starts today

Whether or not home field advantage is beneficial in golf is debatable, but all four of the county's golf teams will head to the state tourney in Whitefish this week after qualifying at the divisional tourney in Polson last Thursday.

The Polson girls came out on top again, led by Jenn Orchard with a score of 84, while the Ronan girls finished third, led by Shayla Couture who shot an 86 — the second highest score in the field.

The Ronan boys saw another great performance by William Foust, who shot a 71, second only to Whitefish star Tyler Holtet, who shot a 70 in the sloppy, damp conditions. The Ronan and Polson boys finished the day dead even at 325, but the Polson boys edged them for second place in a sudden death face off on the first hole to officially determine second and third place.

(In the state golf tourney, the top three teams, and the top 15 individuals advance, so both Ronan and Polson boys would have gone, regardless of the sudden death playoff.)

On the girls side, Kristine Samsel turned in another stellar performance, getting an 86 along with Couture and two other Whitefish players. This was the third time in four meetings that the Polson girls have bested the Lady Bulldogs team, who will be the team to beat at state, along with Miles City.

The Lady Pirates had to wait with fingers crossed after all of the Whitefish players had turned their cards in, as Whitney Pitts and Stephanie Rowold were still out on the course, and the team's overall fate hung in their hands. But both of them came through in the clutch, shooting a 90 each to give the team the victory — their best performances of the season.

Ronan's Lindsey Cornelius and Polson's Sami Beaver also finished in the top 15, which would have earned them a trip to state even if their teams hadn't won. On the boys side, Josh Grenier looked solid again, finishing sixth out of the entire field with a 76.

All of the golfers had to battle rainy conditions all day, which affected their games, so most of the scores were a few strokes higher for everyone.

While Foust and Grenier stood out for the Ronan team, the Polson boys had a more even finish, with Kellan Mills, Jason Newton and Shawn Medland all shooting a respectable 80 to finish tied for eighth.

Harry Medland and Chris Hanson rounded out the Polson team with good scores in the mid to upper 80's, while Chris Starkel, Josh McGreevey and Aaron Acosta rounded out the Ronan boys team with solid performances, too. McGreevey had an 85, while Starkel and Acosta shot in the low 90's.

For the Ronan girls, Brooke Wagner, Jordan Strozzi and Leslie Morigeau all contributed to the team's win behind Couture's great performance.

At the end of the day, both Ronan and Polson boys had a score of 325, so four players from each team shuffled off to the first hole for a sudden death playoff to determine second place and bragging rights, since both teams were guaranteed a trip to state anyway.

Only Foust, Newton and Mills parred the hole, and the one bogey difference gave the second place finish to Polson. The shot of the day had to go to Mills, who drained what a Leader photographer walked off as an approximate 55-foot putt from the edge of the green to par out. Had he bogeyed, the teams would have ultimately continued to the second hole until one came out ahead.

"The Ronan boys were looking to bring home a trophy, but it just wasn't meant to be," said Ronan head coach Pat Williams.

"I know they (the boys team) had to golf better than they had all season to qualify for state," said Polson coach Bill Owen. "They finished about 20 strokes better than they did in their last competition. It was their lowest score of the year."

The victories were probably especially sweet for the Ronan girls and Polson boys team, both of whom were considered underdogs for a state bid. But they all came together to earn the trip to the state tourney, which starts today in Whitefish and goes through Friday.

"The (Ronan) girls came to life at the right time. I have been telling them all year they could qualify for state, and I was excited and thrilled for them," Williams said.

"All of them stepped up. I told them the night before to relax and let themselves do what they had to do," Owen said.

The most pressure will probably be on the Polson girls, who watched a big lead fall after the first day as Miles City came back to win it last year on the second day. The Lady Pirates finished second last year, ahead of Whitefish, who will have home field advantage this year.