THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State women's golf team will travel to Arizona this week for the Bell Bank Collegiate. Hosted by Minnesota and St. Thomas, the tournament will be held at Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona, on March 23-24.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate will be a 54-hole tournament played across two days. The event will begin with the first two rounds taking place on Monday, and the final 18-holes finishing on Tuesday. Tee times are scheduled for 8 a.m. MST for both days.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Links to live stats can be found at
GoBison.com/coverage.
TOURNAMENT FIELD
The Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate will host 14 teams in the competition. Along with the Bison, the field includes Minnesota, St. Thomas, Creighton, Florida Gulf Coast, Grand Canyon, Middle Tennessee State, Montana State, North Dakota, UC Irvine, Omaha, South Florida, Utah Tech, and Western Michigan.
THE COURSE
The Blue Course at Wigwam Golf Club is the third course offered at the resort and is the sister course of the esteemed Gold Course. Originally opened in 1965, the Blue Course was designed by architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Spanning a yardage of 6,373 from the back tees, the par-70 Blue Course is known for its signature small and elevated greens. Featuring creek water hazards and strategically placed sand bunkers, the course requires skillful shots and decision making yet is still playable for the average golfer. In addition to hosting the Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate, the Blue Course at Wigwam has been the host of many tournaments of all skill levels, including the Women's Patriot All-America Invitational - one of the top amateur competitions in the world.
BISON AT THE BELL BANK COLLEGIATE
This will be the debut for NDSU women at the Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate in the second iteration of the event.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bison recorded their 7th top-five finish after landing in a tie for fifth at the SoCal Spring Invitational in early March. Sophomore
Avery Bartels was the top placing golfer for NDSU, finishing in a tie for seventh in the 90-golfer field.
BISON COMPETING
NDSU will send six golfers down to the Bell Bank "Pay It Forward" Collegiate. The Bison competing will be
Madi Hicks,
Norah Roberts,
Cora Larson,
Avery Bartels,
Jeri Lafleche, and
Hannah Dunk, who will be competing as an individual.
ON THE LINKS
- Sophomore
Avery Bartels recorded her third top-10 finish of the season after finishing in a tie for seventh at the SoCal Spring Invitational. Bartels finished just one shot off her season best score of 217 at the same event.
- Senior
Madi Hicks picked up her third top-10 finish of the season after finishing as the runner-up at the El Campeon Collegiate. Hicks now has 17 career top-10 finishes, which is the fourth-highest in NDSU history.
- Junior
Norah Roberts picked up her first collegiate victory at the El Campeon Collegiate in late February. Roberts currently holds a scoring average of 75.74 through 23 rounds, and holds the second most rounds of par or better this season of three.
LOOKING AHEAD
The women's golf team will have two full weeks off before returning to action at their final competition before the Summit League Championships. Hosted by Montana State, the Bobcat Desert Classic will take place at the Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona on April 13-15.
