Mercer ends up third at Women’s State Am

GREAT FALLS — Kalispell’s Marcella Mercer shot a final-round 79 and finished third at the 2021 Women’s State Amateur golf tournament Saturday at Meadow Lark Golf Course.

Mercer, a 2021 Flathead High graduate headed to Washington & Lee to golf collegiately, entered the day four strokes behind leader Kylie Esh.

Esh, the University of Montana golfer, quickly padded a 1-stroke lead over Bozeman’s Kameryn Basye with four birdies in five holes on the front nine Saturday. The fourth birdie, on No. 7, left her 4-under for the day and tournament; Basye was 1-over at the same point of the day and six strokes back.

Basye made up two strokes when Esh double-bogeyed No. 8, but got no closer. Esh ended up at 2-under for the tourney; Basye shot a final-round 73 and was four strokes back overall at 2-over 218.

Mercer, golfing out of Eagle Bend Golf Club in Bigfork, ended up at 8-over 224. She managed one birdie Saturday after snaring four during her Thursday round of 72 and three on Friday (74).

Kinsey Irvin of Pine Meadows (Lewistown) Golf Course was fourth at 229.

Winning the Women’s Mid-Am championship was Susan Haskins out of Bozeman’s Cottonwood Hills. Her three-day total of 228 was nine strokes better than runnerup Kylie Perlinski of Riverside Country Club in Bozeman.

No area golfers competed in the Mid-Am.

Jo Smith of Missoula won the Women’s Senior Am at 242; in second was Carol Van Valkenburg, who like Smith golfed out of Missoula Country Club. She came in at 248, and Deb Porcarelli, playing on her home course, was a close third at 249.

Liz Woelfle out of Eagle Bend was fifth at 254, one stroke behind Susan Court of Helena.