Yellowjacket men finish Day 1 at Cal Baptist Invite

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, March 21, 2016 Yellowjacket men finish Day 1 at Cal Baptist Invite

The Yellowjacket men’s golf team shoots a 638 in the first two rounds of the Cal Baptist Invitational, in the team’s first event of the spring season on Monday.

CORONA, Calif. – Opening the spring with his best round to date, Montana State University Billings freshman Austin Walter shot a 74 in Round 1 of the Cal Baptist University Invitational at Eagle Glen Golf Club on Monday.

Walter’s effort helped MSUB to a team score of 317 in Round 1, but the ‘Jackets slipped slightly in the day’s second round with a mark of 321 for a two-round total of 638. The ‘Jackets will enter Tuesday’s third and final round in 17th place among the 18-team field.

Junior Michael Porter was the top finisher for MSUB on Day 1, shooting rounds of 79 and 77 to sit in a tie for 51st place with a 158. Walter fell behind after his solid first round, carding an 85 in the afternoon session for a total of 159. The freshman is in a tie for 68th place after the first day.

Fellow freshmen Braden Luper and Scott Larson were the next two finishers for MSUB, with scores of 161 and 164, respectively. Luper cut three strokes off his first-round score of 82 to finish with a 79 in the second round and is currently in a tie for 72nd place. Larson had back-to-back rounds of 82, for an even 164 and a tie for 79th.

Rounding out the team’s field of five was junior Connor Miele, who had rounds of 82 and 83 for a total of 165 and is in a tie for 81st place.

Leading the team race after the first two rounds is host Cal Baptist, which had rounds of 290 and 288 for a team total of 578 on Monday. The Lancers’ Tai Kuida is the overall leader among the field, with a two-round score of 140 (67-73) on Day 1.

Also competing in the tournament from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference are Simon Fraser (596, 6th place), Western Washington (598, 7th place), Saint Martin’s (610, 10th place), and Northwest Nazarene (614, 12th place).

The third and final round tees off on Tuesday morning, as the ‘Jackets will look to complete their first tournament of the spring on a high note. Walter was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day, as he topped his previous personal best score of 76 which he achieved in the fall with the ‘Jackets.

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