Loyola dominates at Bigfork
Bigfork’s Kyle Parker tees off while Missoula Loyola’s Carter Bermingham looks on during the Bigfork Invitational Thursday morning at Eagle Bend Golf Course in Bigfork. Parker tied for second place with Missoula Loyola’s Alex Carlson.
Cut Bank's Mariah McCormick hits her ball around a tree toward the green.
Bigfork’s Kyle Parker and Sara Keenan were hoping for a much better showing on their home course Thursday.
“An 85 or better,” Keenan said of what she was aiming for.
“Eighty-three would have been nice. A 79, I want to shoot a lot of them.”
Unfortunately for Keenan, she settled for an 88, eight shots off the pace but still good enough for third place individually in the Bigfork Invitational at Eagle Bend Golf Club.
Although Parker says he never sets a score to shoot for beforehand, his 43-38—81 left the invitational runner-up disappointed.
“I started off really bad,” he said.
“I was just chunking it. The grass was pretty wet. I was mishitting it.”
Parker did settle down in time to turn in a respectable round. He tied Loyola’s Alex Carlson, 41-40—81, for second place.
It was the second time this season Parker has had the top showing for his team.
“The grass dried up, that helped a lot,” he said.
“It was like a swamp everywhere (earlier).”
The day, however, belonged to Missoula Loyola, which swept team titles and medalist honors.
Led by Tom Swanson’s 1-under-par 72, the Rams finished with a 323 team score and 36 shots ahead of second-place Bigfork. Loyola had three golfers in the top five and five in top 10.
Maggie Crippen used a pair of 40s to claim medalist honors for girls, three shots ahead of teammate Kelsie Crippen. The Loyola girls had three individuals in the top five and took the team title with a 386 score. Shelby was a distant second, 447.
There were 11 schools competing in the boys competition, of which 10 fielded full teams.
There were eight schools on the girls side with three having full squads.
Keenan has finished in the top three at all three Bigfork outings this spring.
“I had a couple bad holes,” she said.
“I went in the water on No. 7.”
She had a triple-bogey on that par 4 hole.
“Number 9, I just had a couple bad putts,” she said.
She also started both nines with a bogey and double bogey.
But it was not all bad for the sophomore. She did string three pars together during one stretch, and dropped a 12-foot putt for par on No. 14.
“My chipping was really good,” she said.
And her driving was solid, despite using a new club.
Keenan was hoping to bounce back better after carding a 90 last week on the final day of the Loyola Invitational.
“I should have done better at Loyola,” she said.
“What happens, happens. I can’t go back. It just helps me to get better when I have bad days, or off rounds.”
The format for this event was altered with snow and wet conditions on holes 4-12 on the 18. So golfers played 1-2-3 and 13-18 and the Lake 9.
“It was different,” Parker said.
“There was only one par 3; par 37 on the front. It made it difficult.”
Parker said he missed a couple of short putts on the Lake 9 for birdies.
“Then I missed an eagle putt on 18, which I wasn’t too happy about. Five feet; it was dumb. I aimed on the high side and it never broke back down to the hole.”
Parker said when he made the turn with a 43 after nine hole, “I knew it would be difficult to score pretty good.”
His 38 was the second best score of the day for the Lake 9.
Parker and Keenan will get a chance to redeem themselves on Saturday at the Plains Invitational.
Bigfork Invitational
Thursday
Eagle Bend Golf Club
Boys
6,505 yards; Par 73
Team Totals
Missoula Loyola 323, Bigfork 359, Thomson Falls 392, Plains 393, Seeley-Swan 425, Cut Bank 434, Eureka 442, St. Regis 443, Superior 468, Shelby 488.
Top 10
Tom Swanson, Loyola 37-35—72
Kyle Parker, Bigfork 43-38—81
Alex Carlson, Loyola 41-40—81
Dan Cloninger, Loyola 43-40—83
Robert Baier, Seeley-Swan 41-42—83
Steven Schuster, Bigfork 41-43—84
Ryan McInerney, Fairfield 44-40—84
Zane Worrall, St. Regis 48-39—87
Carter Bermingham, Loyola 45-42—87
Sam Cotnoir, Loyola 47-42—89
A.J. Pavlik, Thompson Falls 47-42—89
By Team
Missoula Loyola (323) — Carter Bermingham 45-42—87; Dan Cloninger 43-40—83; Tom Swanson 37-35—72; Sam Cotnoir 47-42—89; Alex Carlson 41-40—81.
Bigfork (359) — Kyle Parker 43-38—81; Steven Schuster 41-43—84; Ryan Conway 61-51—112; Ronnie Granier 50-50—100; Blake Weimer 51-43—94.
Thompson Falls (392) — Luke Ardizonne 55-48—103; Garrett Reinschmidt 47-45—92; A.J. Pavlik 47-42—89; John Owens 55-53—108; Josh Hojem 53-57—110.
Plains (393) — Bryce Benson 54-44—98; Jeff Revier 45-49—94; Wade Bache 47-51—98; Dallas Burgess 54-49—103; Kyle Hermiston 54-58—112.
Seeley-Swan (425) — Robert Baier 41-42—83; Tony Welch 64-49—113; Chris MacAnally 60-55—115; Brad Varner 57-57—114; Connor Marlatt 65-61—126.
Cut Bank (434) — Brock Calvi 58-59—117; Justin VanderBos 44-51—95; Jordan Hoof 55-47—102; Dylan Milbrandt 65-55—120.
Eureka (442) — Ty Linnell 60-51—111; Jacob Grove 44-53—97; Tel Linnell 54-54—108; Seth Hansen 67-59—126; Jed Sielier 90-73—163.
St. Regis (443) — Zane Worrall 48-39—87; Shad Hotchkiss 58-52—110; Josh Slavin 65-57—122; Rich Shadrick 60-64—124; Spur Hill 87-70—157.
Superior (468) — Trevor Bailey 54-44—98; Daylon Kuhl 56-58—114; Ted Rowden 69-57—126; Jake Bauer 71-59—130.
Shelby (488) — Robby Miller 49-50—99; Josh Matteson 59-54—113; Alex White 65-67—132; Jared Eckhardt 70-74—144.
Fairfield — Ryan McInerney 44-40—84; Tryg Brosten 51-46—97.
—————
Girls
5,169 yards; Par 73
Team Totals
Missoula Loyola 386, Shelby 447, Cut Bank 485.
Top 10
Maggie Crippen, Loyola 40-40—80
Kelsie Crippen, Loyola 39-44—83
Sara Keenan, Bigfork 45-43—88
Taylor Galiher, Loyola 42-47—89
Morgan Stevens, Shelby 50-46—96
Jordan Johnson, Cut Bank 56-49—105
Tamara Rennick, Superior 53-52—105
Claire Hooper, Shelby 57-53—110
Mariah McCormick, Cut Bank 56-57—113
Katie Brown, Shelby 54-61—115
By Team
Missoula Loyola (386) — Kelsie Crippen 39-44—83; Maggie Crippen 40-40—80; Taylor Galiher 42-47—89; Katy Ermatinger 71-77—148; Sara Opitz 66-68—134.
Shelby (447) — Morgan Stevens 50-46—96; Claire Hooper 57-53—110; Katie Brown 54-61—115; Hayley Fretheim 67-59—126; Maggie Fretheim 70-67—137.
Cut Bank (485) — Mariah McCormick 56-57—113; Jordan Johnson 56-49—105; Heather Edwards 58-61—119; Josie Ray 72-76—148.
Bigfork — Sara Keenan 45-43—88; Aly Losleben 72-74—146.
Fairfield — Randi McInerney 63-61—124; Becky Graf 58-62—120.
St. Regis — Shelby Berg 70-68—138
Thompson Falls — Emily LaFriniere 58-66—124; Victoria Hampton 57-62—121; Emily Wadsworth 72-63—135
Superior — Tamara Rennick 53-52—105; Whitney Lapinski 61-63—124.