Yellowjacket men finish in 13th at SMU Invite Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, September 24, 2016 Yellowjacket men finish in 13th at SMU Invite Saturday

MSUB’s men’s golf team improves by 13 strokes, shooting a 303 on Saturday to finish in 13th place at the rain-shortened Saint Martin’s Invitational.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Cutting 13 strokes off of its Day 1 score, the Montana State University Billings men’s golf team wrapped up the Saint Martin’s University Invitational by shooting a 303 at Olympia Golf and Country Club on Saturday to finish in 13th place.

The Yellowjackets completed the tournament with a two-round score of 619, after shooting a 316 on Friday in a rainshortened day of competition. Originally scheduled to be a three-round event, Friday’s second round was canceled due to poor weather and the tournament was completed in two rounds.

“The weather was much better today, and we got off to a good start,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “We played the front-nine at plus-four, but the back-nine at plus-23. If we could be a little more consistent, then I think we could have broken 300, which is a very impressive score at this course.”

Leading the Yellowjackets in a tie for 36th place was senior Michael Porter, who wrapped up the tournament by shooting a 3-over-par 74 on Saturday. He cut four strokes off of his Day 1 round of 78, finishing with a two-round total of 152. “Michael had one birdie and one eagle, as he chipped in from about 40 yards on Hole 15 to highlight his round,” Woodin said. “He avoided any big scores, and had zero double bogeys or worse.”

Nearly matching his first-round score of 76, freshman Caleb Stetzner was just one stroke behind on Saturday as he finished up with a 77. Playing in his first-ever college tournament, Stetzner wound up in a tie for 44th place with a tworound total of 153. “Caleb had an outstanding tournament for his first event as a freshman,” Woodin said.

Senior Connor Miele showed drastic improvement between rounds, firing a 2-over-par 73 on Saturday after an 81 on Friday. Miele ended the event in a tie for 50th place with a two-round total of 154, though his single round of 73 was the best by a Yellowjacket at the event. “Connor had a 3-under-par 32 on the front-nine, and his round was highlighted by a birdie-birdie start,” Woodin said.

Breaking 80 on Day 2 for MSUB was sophomore Austin Walter, who carded a 79 after an 81 in the opening round.

Walter ended the tournament in a tie for 71st place with a two-round total of 160. Freshman Garrett Woodin also showed strong improvement on Day 2, bumping his Day 1 90 down to an 80 in Round 2, and finishing in a tie for 88th place with a 170 overall.

Winning the team title at the event was Chico State University, which shot a tournament-best single round of 277 on Saturday and finished with a 576 overall. The Wildcats held off second-place Cal State Monterey Bay by six strokes en route to the tournament title.

Andrew Harrison of the University of British Columbia protected his Day 1 lead, cruising to medalist honors with a tworound total of 138 (69-71). He held of No. 2 finisher Colby Dean of Chico State by two strokes.

Other Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams competing in the event were Concordia University (4th place, 588), Saint Martin’s University (T7th 596), Western Washington University (T7th, 596), Simon Fraser University (11th, 611), and Northwest Nazarene University (15th, 627).

Miele was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for MSUB. “Overall I am pleased with the improvement our guys showed from Day 1,” said Woodin. “We had really good focus today, and as we head to Bellingham we just need to finish off the rounds. I’d like to see us focus on those final six holes, and I think we have a chance to shoot below 300.”

AHEAD: The Yellowjackets remain in Washington over the weekend, kicking off the Western Washington University Invitational on Monday in Bellingham. The three-round event runs through Tuesday, and live scoring will be available through GolfStat.

Saint Martin’s University Invitational Olympia Golf & Country Club | Olympia, WA Final Results | Sept. 24, 2016 Team – 1. Chico State, 576 (299-277); 13. MSU Billings, 619 (316-303). Individual – 1. Andrew Harrison, UBC, 138 (6971); T36. Michael Porter, MSUB, 152 (78-74); T44. Caleb Stetzner, MSUB, 153 (76-77); T50. Connor Miele, MSUB, 154 (81-73); T71. Austin Walter, MSUB, 160 (81-79); T88. Garrett Woodin, MSUB, 170 (90-80).

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