Montana State finished the first day of the Bell Bank Pay It Forward Collegiate on Mar. 23 at the Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona, leading both the team and individual leaderboards. Ashleigh Wilson posted rounds of 68 and 65 to take a three-stroke lead individually at 9-under par.
The event is significant for Montana State as it marks a strong showing with four Bobcats ranked in the top 20 individually after two rounds. The team recorded a school-record second round of 12-under-par, contributing to their overall score of 19-under-par (549) on the par-71 course.
Head coach Brittany Basye said, “We talked about playing for the opportunity to be in the final pairing last night; it is always one of our goals. The ladies played amazing, and we are in the final pairing. Ashleigh played great for a solid 36 holes. She was making great swings that put her in prime spots to make some putts, and she did. I am super proud of her. Eva shooting a 65 the second round after struggling a little the first round shows the amount of grit she has. It’s awesome. Norah showed consistent, gritty, smart play. She is swinging it well. To have three players in red numbers and one at even is a tremendous team effort. They play for each-other, and that’s exactly how they played today. They all need to be ready to walk 18 holes tomorrow in the heat and keep the pedal down, full steam ahead. The 36 holes today in 100 degrees was a true test of grittiness. It’s hot and they battled. We tee it up tomorrow and play our games!”
The Bobcats’ opening round tied them for second place with their third-lowest team score ever (277), including bogey-free performances from Wilson and Norah Seidl on most holes as well as strong showings from Eva Heinz and Lauren Greeny among others.
In individual competition outside team scoring, Sailor Graham ended day one tied for forty-third while Lauren Nau finished tied for seventy-second with eighteen holes left.
Montana State holds a narrow one-stroke advantage over South Florida heading into Tuesday’s final round while Florida Gulf Coast University trails by seven shots overall.
