Hawks host eight teams in Gary Thompson invite

On Thursday the Blue Hawks and Trotters/Horsemen traveled to Bigfork to partake in the Steve Hullett Invitational. With 27 holes, many hazards and several bunkers, the Eagles Bend golf course was quite the challenge. Coach Doree Thilmony said that the greens are much larger and the grass is faster than the River's Bend course here at Thompson Falls.

"Greens in regulation are difficult to get," said Thilmony. Cael Thilmony, with a score of 96, shot four greens in regulation and achieved four pars. Theo scored a 98, achieving three greens and three pars. Colton golfed a 111 and had a one par game and Elilie Baxter got a 'birdie', two in the green and two at par, with a score of 99.

On Saturday the Blue Hawks hosted seven other teams in the Gary Thompson Invite at the River's Bend golf course. The course has nine holes and has one of the smallest greens in all of Western Montana. It's a course that challenges chipping as well as putting ability.

The girls team placed second and only seven points away from Bigfork, who placed first. "Just the fact that we have a girls team, we can put scores on the board," said Thilmony. There are not very many female golfers compared to males. In this tournament there were only two schools who had enough girls to make a team and this is the first that Thompson Falls has had in six years. Thilmony said that the bar isn't as high for the girls to reach the state level, however the boys have double the amount of competition and need to take off 30 strokes as a team to be able to compete at state level this year.

Ellie Baxter placed second out of 20 girls with a score of 92, just five points from first placer Keni Wade of Bigfork. She made six pars on the home turf. Addi Pardee scored a 114 and got one at par and Emma Claridge made three at par and scored 129. Thilmony said that Aubrey Baxter has improved a lot, she got one at par and shot a 129.

Cael Thilmony placed 10th out of 45 with a score of 93 and made three at par. Thilmony said that he is a very consistent golfer no matter the course. Wormwood shot a 112 and got one par; Jesse Claridge shot a 99 and Theo Nygaard shot a 105. Thilmony said that Nygaard has improved a lot.

For the Plains team: Brandt Snead shot a 91, Jayden Weeks a 94, Kort Craft a 112, Drew Carey a 118 and Isaiah Paseman a 119.

The county golf teams were set to compete in Anaconda Thursday, April 27, at Old Works Golf Course. However, that tournament was canceled due to weather, as the course still is snow-covered in some places as of earlier this week. The next competition for Plains and Thompson Falls will be Monday and Tuesday in Missoula as they play the Larchmont and Canyon River courses.