Men’s Golf Finishes Ninth at Saint Martin’s Invitational

Final Results

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Montana State Billings men’s golf team moved up two places and finished ninth at the Saint Martin’s Invitational Saturday.  The Yellowjackets dropped five strokes from yesterday (307) to their team score and carded a 302 for a 609, 36-hole score for the tournament.  Saint Martin’s roared back after opening the tournament in fifth to win the tournament with an impressive 284 score on Saturday and a 583, 36-hole score.

"Finishing ninth out of 19 teams is a good start to this road trip,” head coach Shawn O’Brien said.  “We missed a lot of opportunities to finish higher in the tournament.  If we have some individuals finish with a little more consistency we will do just fine at Western Washington University on Monday and Tuesday." 

Cal State-Monterey Bay finished second in the team standings with a 586 score, followed by Western Washington (590), and University of British Columbia and Dixie State tied for fourth with a 592 score.

Individually, SMU’s Zach Dietz won the tournament with a four-under 140.  Victoria’s (BC) Sam Holland finished second with a two-under 142, followed by UBC’s Dennis Nikou with a 143.  MSUB’s Jeff Allen and Tyler Nicholas finished tied for 29th, each with a 150 score.  Both players tallied rounds of 76 and 74 for the tournament.

Jacob Harr finished tied for 40th with a 152 score, followed by KC Kindle who tied for 75th with a 160 score and Travis Gates finished tied for 85th with a 164 score to round out the scoring for MSUB.

"The greens played with a ton of break and the pins were a challenge for our players,” O’Brien added.  “We just need to adjust a little quicker, giving ourselves a better chance the second day to place high."  "Overall, I am pleased that we placed fifth among NCAA II teams at the tournament."

All four Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools were at the event as SMU was first, WWU was third MSUB was ninth and Northwest Nazarene was 17th in the 19-team field.

The Yellowjackets head north to Bellingham, Wash., and will probably see most of the same teams at the Western Washington Invitational beginning Monday.

9 Montana St. Billings 307 302 609
T 29 Jeff Allen 76 74 150
T 29 Tyler Nicholas 76 74 150
T 40 Jacob Harr 77 75 152
T 75 KC Kindle 78 82 160
T 85 Travis Gates 85 79 164