BUTTE — Fall foliage framed the grounds of the Butte Country Club on Thursday amidst a backdrop of low, gray clouds smeared across the sky which threatened to derail the first day of Class AA state golf.
This did not deter Payton Tryan, however, as the Billings Senior junior held fast in first place for most of the day.
Tryan has played strongly all season. She won both the Eastern AA divisional tournament last weekend and the Optimist Jr. District Championship in August.
“I feel like it gave me some confidence,” Tryan said of her divisional win setting her up for state.
She continued that momentum by grabbing the lead after round one of the state tournament with a four-stroke lead over second-place Heidi Huber of Bozeman. Tryan finished the first day with a score of 76.
Unlike many of her peers golfing at state, Tryan has been playing golf for a short while – only since she was a freshman.
She attributes the success she has seen this year to two simple things: practicing hard over the summer and learning the game.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Tryan said Thursday. “There’s some things I could have done better, but hoping to improve little by little tomorrow. And it was a good round overall.”
The rain began to come down hard towards the end of the first day, causing wet and cold conditions on the green. The forecast promises more rain for round two tomorrow, but, just like today, Tryan is determined to not let it get the best of her.
“Just kind of go back to basics,” she said. “Just try and aim in the middles of the green.”
Tryan will have competition with two Bozeman golfers, Huber and Kira Connell, four and five strokes behind her, respectively. The Hawks girls and boys teams took home first place at the Eastern AA divisional tournament last weekend, and with some individual leaders in place heading into a round two which could feature more foul weather, a cushy lead is what the top golfers need.
Huber finished Thursday in second place with 9-over-par for a score of 80, and her Hawks teammate Connell finished one stroke behind for a score 81. Bozeman Gallatin’s Breckin Frederick is fourth with 13-over-par for 84, and a three-way tie for fourth place is currently being held by Anna Fenhaus of Billings West, Avery Gardner of Bozeman and Lilia Troxel of Belgrade, all 14-over-par.
Over in the boys, a tighter race is currently being fought as the first day ended with a three-way tie for first place between Helena Capital’s John Gilbert, who led the leaderboard most of the day, Missoula Sentinel’s Jack Schaefer and Great Falls CMR’s Jack Pinski. All three boys finished 2-over-par at the end of the day.
Gilbert was just one over par the entire day until Hole 8, his second to last hole of the day when he shot a bogey, dropping him in with Pinski and Schaefer.
“I just kind of was focusing on getting in the fairway, hitting the green, two-putting and not trying to get caught up,” Gilbert said. “And I think it helped a lot not looking at the scores, because it can get in your head when you see a lot of people. I didn’t look at the scores all day and just try and keep hitting fairways, greens and two-putt and that worked out for 13 holes.”
The weather will be a deterrent for all golfers tomorrow, but, like Tryan, Gilbert isn’t too intimidated by it. He said he will deploy the same strategy he used today when the rain began to fall: keeping his glove dry.
“That’s the main part,” he said. “Because when it gets slippery, then that’s when you start missing some shots. But I’m going to go in with the same mentality and try to hit fairways, greens and two-puts and keep everything dry.”
Gilbert’s game plan for breaking from the three-way tie for first tomorrow will be the same plan he had Thursday, which was playing conservative off the tee. If, in the last five or six holes, he’s down and needs to make better shots happen, Gilbert said he’ll plan to play more aggressive and shoot some birdies.
If he’s up, however, he will continue to cruise, playing steady.
Pinski, the boys winner of Eastern AA divisional, entered the state tournament riding on the high of his postseason win. It put further confidence in his ball-striking ability and his trust where to hit the ball.
Now entering round two, Pinkski said that, as he did today, he wouldn’t let the weather affect his game too much.
“I was trying to score the best I could (today, not) knowing what tomorrow would bring,” Pinski said of the upcoming forecast. “I feel like I did pretty good at that. Everybody has to play the same conditions tomorrow, so as long as I go out and play my own game, I’ll be pretty good.”
It helps to be playing in the same group as your friend, which Pinkski is with Gilbert.
Playing steady and holding their own is the name of the game for the leaders of the Class AA state golf tournament thus far. Gilbert, Pinski and Schaefer all finished 2-over-par with a total score of 72. Kalispell Glacier’s Luke Nelson is close behind with 73, and Capital’s Reece Chapman finished with 74.
Missoula Sentinel boys are currently at the top of the team leaderboard with a score of 303, Helena Capital is second with 306 and Kalispell Glacier third for 309. For the girls teams, Bozeman is first with a score of 352, Billings West is second with 369 and Billings Senior is third for 379.
Bria Manning is the sports editor of The Montana Standard. Follow her on X at @briaamanning or contact her at bria.manning@406mtsports.com
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