State AA golf preview: Avery aims for 3rd straight title
On her way to one of the most decorated prep golf careers in state history, Glacier senior Teigan Avery has made the second day at the state tournament interesting.
The two-time defending Class AA state champion led the field her freshman year in Great Falls before a poor second round left her two strokes back of a title.
Her sophomore year saw her hold off then two-time defending champ Kortney McNeil of Billings Senior by one stroke in Missoula, winning her first state championship.
Last season, at Bridger Creek Golf Course in Bozeman, Avery trailed Billings West’s Hayden Flohr by four strokes with three holes to play, only to close par, birdie, birdie and force a playoff. She won the first playoff hole, two-putting for par and her second straight title.
The Class AA state tournament begins today at Bill Roberts Golf Course in Helena, and Avery enters as a favorite along with Flohr, also in her senior season.
Avery said she likes the Helena course because it offers a lot of the same challenges as her home course, Buffalo Hill Golf Club.
“You have to play smart, you can’t just bomb it down the fairway,” Avery said.
“You have to make decisions off the tee that don’t involve your driver every hole.”
The Glacier girls finished in eighth place and return two other golfers from the state tournament last season in McKenna Tinseth (39th), Kyrsten Seibenaler (24th).
Flathead finished in sixth place as a team and returns three golfers from that squad: Becca Knutson, who finished in a tie for 30th last season, Liz Lorentz (44th) and Katie Stoble (T-64th).
For her part, Avery is ready to take on another challenge in her prodigious high school career.
“I feel like I have my game where it should be and, hopefully, I can shoot the scores that I know I’m capable of,” she said.
Like his counterpart across town, Flathead’s Ryan Keenan has done well each of the last three seasons at the boys state tournament, finishing in the top 20 each year, and all-state the last two.
He, along with Glacier’s Tom Mann, has been one of the best golfers in the West this season, but will have quite the competition in Helena.
Billings West sophomore Joey Moore has lost just twice this season after finishing second at the state tournament last year. Along with Skyview’s Payton Stott and a strong team from Missoula Sentinel, there is no shortage of talent at this year’s event.
Keenan heads a Flathead program that also brings back Matt Marshall (T-35th), Evan Miles (56th) and Nick Weaver (T-66th) from a team that finished 11th as a team last season. Braves coach Jess Roper said he is hoping the team can compete for a top-five finish.
Glacier finished tied for third as a team last season, but brings back only Mann, who finished in a tie for 16th, one stroke outside of all-state contention.