Moore marks record round

Joey Moore finished his prep career with an exclamation point.

The Billings West senior drove the green on the par-4 18th at Buffalo Hill Golf Club, sinking a relatively easy 4-foot putt for eagle to set the Class AA record for 36 holes and repeat as state champion.

“It’s nice,” Moore said. “It gets some weight off the shoulders. It’s nice to finish off with this.”

Moore, a future Division I golfer at San Diego State who also won the Fourth of July tournament this summer in Whitefish, was the only golfer to finish under par in the second round, blowing away the field to win by 13 strokes at 11-under-par 133 for the tournament. The mark bested his own Class AA record set last fall by one stroke.

The way he did it was spectacular.

Moore played the front nine 2-under and birdied two of his first four on the back before a bogey set him off pace. A birdie on the 15th set Moore up to break the record by playing the final three holes 2-under. He made par on the 16th and left a birdie putt short on the 17th, but an immaculate drive on the final hole made his final putt that much easier.

The drive stuck five feet in front of the pin and rolled inches past the cup to settle four feet behind the pin. After his playing partners putted out, he stepped over the putt and sunk it center cup, giving a wave to the crowd.

“I knew it was flag, I didn’t know it was quite 4 feet,” Moore said. “I hit it how I wanted to. Good tempo, got it set at the top and just ripped it. It was nice.

“Overall, I think it was a good day. The putter heated up more than yesterday. It saved me a little bit.”

Great Falls C.M. Russell’s Duncan Hollar finished in second on a hot, fast day on the greens, carding a 75 to finish at 2-over-par 146 for the tournament. The Rustlers boys easily took the team title with a score of 603, placing all four scorers in the top seven.

Glacier senior AJ Grande, who entered the day two strokes back in second place, had a rough day on the greens, carding a 79 to finish in a tie for third place with Great Falls’ Rylan Periman at 4-over 148.

“I hit the ball straight and I hit it pure,” Grande said. “It was just the putts that got me and cost me a lot of strokes. Other than that, I thought I played well.

“Overall, I loved the way I played. Today could’ve been different with putting but other than that I thought I played a solid tournament. To finish this way, I’ve always dreamed of finishing all-state my senior year. To finish like this is awesome.”

Flathead senior Sam Elliott scored a 162 to finish one stroke out of contention for all-state. The Glacier boys finished ninth as a team and the Flathead boys 12th.

The Bozeman girls took the top three spots and four of the top five to dominate their way to a team title for the second straight season.

Hawks junior Laurel Ward won medalist honors, topping teammates Annika Danenhauer and Kamryn Basye for the first time this season. Ward carded the low round both days, finishing with a 79 to close the tournament at 11-over 155. Danenhauer was second at 161 and Basye third at 163.

“I was hitting the fairways, playing smart golf, putting the ball where I needed to today,” Ward said. “The course was tough. The greens were fast and there’s trees everywhere so you’ve really got to think about where you want the ball to go.

“I can’t describe it (winning state). It’s truly an incredible experience. I’m still processing it. Words can’t describe it.”

Flathead freshman Marcella Mercer was ninth overall, shooting 6 strokes better in her final round to finish at 190.

“Today I hit my irons a lot better than I did yesterday,” Mercer said. “Yesterday I couldn’t hit them straight. It was nice to have them be able to work today.

“I was good through the back (nine). In the front I had a couple of double (bogeys) that really made my score go up.”

The Glacier girls finished 10th as a team and the Flathead girls in a tie for 11th.

The top 15 individual finishers were awarded all-state honors.

Class AA State Tournament

at Buffalo Hill Golf Club, Kalispell

Par:72; Yardage: B-6199, G-5279

Final Round

BOYS

Team Scores — 1, C.M. Russell, 603; T2, West, 628; T2, Great Falls, 628; 4, Bozeman, 662; 5, Sentinel, 665; 6, Butte, 668; 7, Senior, 673; 8, Skyview, 686; 9, Glacier, 697; 10, Hellgate, 701; 11, Big Sky, 710; 12, Flathead, 717; 13, Capital 728; 14, Helena, 729.

Individual Top 15 — 1, Joey Moore, West, 67-66­—133 (new Class AA record: Moore, 134, 2016); 2, Duncan Hollar, CMR, 71-75—146; T3, A.J. Grande, Glacier, 69-79—148; T3, Rylan Periman, Great Falls, 71-77—148; 5, Ben Kaul, CMR, 75-74—149; 6, Jack Johnston, Sentinel, 73-78—151; T7, Will Hoagland, Butte, 77-77—154; T7, Tucker Thomas, CMR, 77-77—154; T7, Tucker Pietrykowski, CMR, 75-79—154; T10, Jace Rhodes, West, 83-73—156; T10, Thain Johnson, Great Falls, 78-78—156; 12, J.R. Small, Bozeman, 76-81—157; 13, Connor Mora, Great Falls, 81-78—159; 14, Braxton Humphrey, Senior, 79-81—160; T15, Cody Brunner, Skyview, 87-74—161; T15, Jack Thorsen, Bozeman, 82-79—161; T15, Isaiah Weldon, Butte, 80-81—161.

CMR (603) — Duncan Hollar 71-75—146; Ben Kaul 75-74—149; Tucker Thomas 77-77—154; Tucker Pietrykowski 75-79—154; Zane Potratz 90-86—176

WEST (628) — Joey Moore 67-66—133; Jace Rhodes 83-73—156; Blake Loberg 83-87—170; Peyton Streiff 83-86—169; Mason Johnson 98-87—185

GREAT FALLS (628) — Connor Mora 81-78—159; Keaton Sunchild 79-86—165; Rylan Periman 71-77—148; Thain Johnson 78-78—156; Tyson St. John 97-88—185

BOZEMAN (662) — J.R. Small 76-81—157; Jack Thorsen 82-79—161; Garrett Neilson 84-85—169; Bradley DeMartino 88-95—183; Jack Bright 90-87—177

SENTINEL (665) — Jack Johnston 73-78—151; Blake Hasquet 81-82—163; Shawn Ryan 93-93—186; Sam Miland 91-87—178; Jaden Dennis 84-89—173

BUTTE (668) — Will Hoagland 77-77—154; Isaiah Weldon 80-81—161; Kaven Noctor 82-89—171; Carsten Quam 94-88—182; Riley Walsh 94-93—187

SENIOR (673) — Braxton Humphrey 79-81—160; Brady Cady 84-81—165; Tyler Hall 90-88—178; Connor Kieckbusch 87-83—170; Nico Micheletti 92-89—181

SKYVIEW (686) — Cody Brunner 87-74—161; Adam Nedens 84-80—164; Ben Pope 90-87—177; Caden Freeman 95-89—184; Ben Ebel 107-96—203

GLACIER (697) — A.J. Grande 69-79—148; Brayden Aurich 78-84—162; Hunter Watterud 103-104—207; Ethan Purdy 98-101—199; Caden Willis 99-89—188

HELLGATE (701) — River Duce 82-84—166; Ryan Domako 87-96—183; Ben Huguet 85-83—168; Soren Rasmussen 90-96—186; Kade McCulloch 100-94—194

BIG SKY (710) — Zach Harvey 88-81—169; Blake Heintzelman 94-90—184; Hanke Mesen 89-93—182; Ryan Harvey 91-89—180; Jackson Susott 89-95—184

FLATHEAD (717) — Sam Elliott 79-83—162; Ezra Epperly 90-85—175; Keaden Morisaki 92-96—188; Spencer Christy 92-100—192; Ryan Thomsen 104-107—211

CAPITAL (728) — Simon Clark 92-96—188; Trevor Swanson 97-94—191; Holden Gehringer 90-88—178; Cal Irvine 96-94—190; Gabe Witham 89-85—174

HELENA (729) — Austin Murphy 89-86—175; Tucker Hauer 105-99—204; Gavin Anderson 87-84—171; Luke Thomson 88-102—190; Caleb Binfet 95-101—196

GIRLS

Team Scores — 1, Bozeman, 649; 2, West, 735; 3, Skyview, 778; 4, Sentinel, 781; 5, Helena, 791; 6, Butte, 793; 7, Senior, 808; 8, Capital, 873; 9, Great Falls, 895; 10, Glacier, 896; T11, Flathead, 937; T11, Big Sky, 937.

Individual Top 15 — 1, Laurel Ward, Bozeman, 76-79—155; 2, Annika Danenhauer, Bozeman, 81-80—161; 3, Kamryn Basye, Bozeman, 82-81—163; 4, Carrie Carpenter, West, 80-86—166; T5, Cora Rosanova, Bozeman, 90-80—170; T5, Emily Garden, Sentinel, 85-85—170; 7, Peyton Kimmel, West, 90-96—186; 8, Ellie Jackson, Bozeman, 93-95—188; 9, Marcella Mercer, Flathead, 98-92—190; T10, Reyla Williams, Helena, 99-92—191; T10, Sev Armstrong, Hellgate, 94-97—191; T12, Kyra Brockhausen, Skyview, 99-93—192; T12, Nevin Larsen, West, 91-101-192; T12, Sadie Starcevich, Butte, 93-99—192; T15, Jalen Wagner, Senior, 96-97—193; T15, Ginny Kerr, Helena, 101-92—193.

BOZEMAN (649) — Kamryn Basye 82-81—163; Annika Danenhauer 81-80—161; Laurel Ward 76-79—155; Cora Rosanova 90-80—170; Ellie Jackson 93-95—188

WEST (735) — Carrie Carpenter 80-86—166; Peyton Kimmel 90-96—186; Nevin Larsen 91-101-192; Alivia Skeslien-Jenkins 94-111—205; Raelynn Bruyere 100-97-197

SKYVIEW (778) — Kyra Brockhausen 99-93—192; Kyra Hart 97-100—197; Aliyah Morrow 95-100—195; Amanda King 107-107—214; Cierra Sundheim 92-102—194

SENTINEL (781) — Emily Garden 85-85—170; Lauren Peterson 94-100—194; Andrea Porch 108-105—213; Marissa Breum 105-99—204; Olivia Boehm 119-118—237

HELENA (791) — Reyla Williams 99-92—191; Grace Jones 105-106—211; Ginny Kerr 101-92—193; Lauren Willams 101-99—200; Pilar Santos 112-102—214

BUTTE (793) — Sadie Starcevich 93-99—192; Grace Luoma 99-103—202; Ella Prigge 98-101—199; Kelliann Neary 104-102—206; Kennedy Lean 98-109—207

SENIOR (808) — Jalen Wagner 96-97—193; Virginia Montague 100-96—196; Sarah Qualls 113-100—213; Sidney Overby 103-108—211; Cassidy Venner 108-109—217

CAPITAL (873) — Kielar Jones 93-102—195; Marrin Chapman 121-106—227; Lexi McNew 109-119—228; Makayla Lawrence 116-107—223

GREAT FALLS (895) — Kelly Jones 115-121—236; Morgan Sunchild 109-109—218; Hannah Fehres 112-113—225; Katrina Adkins 106-110—216; Presley Bridrattler 132-135—267

GLACIER (896) — Katie Trunkle 101-99—200; Hailey Iverson 111-101—212; Hannah Iverson 132-125—257; Avery Anderson 115-112—227; Reide Barkus 136-133—269

FLATHEAD (937) — Marcella Mercer 98-92—190; Cassidy Lavin 94-111—205; Maisie Hanson 135-126—261; Sheridan Stroop 146-135—281

BIG SKY (937) — Alexis Knight 97-107—204; Maddy Morris 125-114—239; Sabryn Knight 118-120—238; Ava Heintzelman 119-143—262; Erin Murphy 119-143—262

CMR (NS) — Blair Hebnes 106-106—212; Bailee Potratz 105-106—211; Morgan Zuidema 121-110—231

HELLGATE (NS) — Sev Armstrong 94-97—191; Lane Mannix 139-130—269

Day 2 Scores

BOYS

FLATHEAD — Sam Elliott 42-41—83; Ezra Epperly 48-37—85; Keaden Morisaki 46-50—96; Spencer Christy 51-49—100; Ryan Thomsen 55-52—107

GLACIER — A.J. Grande 40-39—79; Brayden Aurich 42-42—84; Hunter Watterud 55-49—104; Ethan Purdy 51-50—101; Caden Willis 44-45—89

GIRLS

FLATHEAD — Marcella Mercer 48-44—92; Cassidy Lavin 56-55—111; Maisie Hanson 67-59—126; Sheridan Stroop 74-61—135

GLACIER — Katie Trunkle 53-46—99; Hailey Iverson 50-51—101; Hannah Iverson 64-61—125; Avery Anderson 54-58—112; Reide Barkus 69-64—133