Whitefish golfers do well at opening tourney

The Whitefish High Bulldog golf teams got into full swing with their first tournament of the year at the Meadow Lark Country Club and Eagle Falls Golf Club in the Great Falls Invitational.

The tournament field included all 14 Class AA schools along with Whitefish and Havre from the Class A ranks, with more than 180 golfers playing.

At the end of first day, the Whitefish girls were in third place, only one shot out of the lead, with CMR and Bozeman tied for first. The Lady Bulldogs were led by senior Quinn Micklewright and junior BreAnna Cameron at 82, followed closely by Kiley McConnell at 86 and Danielle McCully's 88.

Ellen Scheffer, playing the fifth spot for the ladies, posted a score of 101. Danielle McCully's 88 was her personal-best round and came at a fairly difficult golf course. The girls' total score on day one of 338 was the lowest one-day total in several years.

The wind on day two kicked into high gear, and all the girls' scores rose. BreAnna Cameron shot an 89 and finished sixth in the field. The girls only dropped one spot on the second day to finish at a very respectable fourth place.

"The girls played real well the first day and showed what they're capable of shooting this season," coach Terry Nelson said. "We just need to get more consistent to shoot those scores at each tournament."

The boys actually lowered their team score the second day in the 35 mph winds. Freshman Reed Platke led the team with scores of 79-75 in his first-ever varsity-level tournament. Reed finished his round with two consecutive birdies at Eagle Falls to post the 75 and finish in the top-10.

Junior Joel Mallams posted 80-80 and was second for the Bulldogs. Ryan Zalucky shot 79-83 to help the Bulldogs move from seventh to fifth place overall in the large field. Daniel Markus was fourth with scores of 85-81, while Zach Maassen finished with 87-90.

"I was pleased with the boys' scores for our first tournament, given the windy conditions," Nelson said. "I fully expect the boys to drop their team scores by at least 15 shots in our next tournament."

The teams are in action Thursday at Ronan's Mission Mountain Golf Club.

The No. 2 varsity boys and girls will kick off their season at East Glacier on Saturday against varsity teams from Havre, Browning, Lewistown and other western A schools. Tayler Johnson, Lexi Day, Tara Sullivan, Shelby Long, Emma Dowaliby and Klaire Taylor are competing for the top spots on the second team.

"Several of these ladies are very capable of breaking the 100 mark very soon," Nelson said.

On the boys side, the competition for top spots is shaping up to be a real battle, with some very talented players. Dylan Parr is just a few shots out of making the varsity each week and is expected to jump into the line-up.

Mikel Miller is working hard to break into the varsity line-up as well and needs only to get in a few more good qualifying rounds. Cole Havens joins a group of players making fast progress after a summer of baseball kept them off the course.

Carl Talsma has posted a couple of great qualifying rounds and has the game and mental approach to be an excellent golfer. Drew Galbraith is making tremendous progress and lowering his score steadily this season.

Joe Blakemore is a great ball striker and capable of going low as well. Freshman Tyler Brown has recorded a couple of good qualifying rounds and is working to get more consistent in his total game.

Kyler Blades is also coming off a summer of baseball and is getting his game in shape. Tyler Schiff, a junior, is very steady and is competing for the team. Max Lamb has the game, and with competitive experience, he will move up the depth chart, too.

"The whole team needs to focus hard on their short games and making good decisions during the round before we are as solid as I think we can be," Nelson said.