George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
Despite playing in high winds and carrying just four players while most teams have five, the Havre High boys golf team made its presence felt in its first 18 holes of the 2007 season. On Monday afternoon at Meadowlark Country Club in Great Falls, the Pony boys fired a 331 team score and got a stellar round of 78 from junior Jeremy Jensen en route to a fifth-place tie at what is considered Montana’s toughest high school golf tournament. The Great Falls Invitational is a two-day, 36-hole event that not only features all of the Class AA schools, but perhaps the top golf team in all of Montana, the Whitefish Bulldogs. With HHS’s 331, the Ponies are tied with CMR, and those two schools are just two strokes behind Billings Senior and Billings Skyview. The brand new Glacier High School made a strong debut in boys golf by scoring a 313 to take a seven-stroke lead over secondplace Billings West. Whitefish is in third at 323. Jensen’s 78 led HHS and put him in a tie for 10th place in the individual competition. Billings West star Jake Hedge is in the lead after shooting a 2-over par 74. Hedge is the younger brother of three-time Montana men’s amateur champion Josh Hedge. But as well as Jensen played on Monday, he got plenty of help from his team. Senior Dan Pizzini opened with an 81 and sophomore Brett Normandy shot a solid 82 to help the Blue Ponies. Junior Myles Mazurkiewicz rounded out the scoring for HHS with a 90. On the girls side, the windy conditions and Meadowlark’s traditionally tough layout proved to be difficult for the HHS girls. The Ponies are in 11th place overall after shooting a 422 team score. Bozeman leads the tournament at 350 and Billings West is in second with a 357. CMR is currently third and defending Class A state champion Whitefish is in fourth at 366. Individually, the Ponies were led by senior Haley McLain’s opening-round 95, while junior Tabitha Beck fired an even 100. Senior Stacey Sheppard shot a 102 and Danika Patterson came in at 125. Like the HHS boys, the Blue Pony girls are carrying just four varsity players this week. The Great Falls Invitational wraps up today with 18 holes at Eagle Falls Golf Course.
