Prep Golf Preview: Flatfish Invitational
FRIDAY: Play begins 11 a.m. - Boys at Village Greens Golf Course; girls at Whitefish Lake Golf Course
SATURDAY: Play begins 9 a.m. - Boys at Whitefish Lake; girls at Buffalo Hill Golf Club
WHO'S PLAYING: 10 teams in this year's field - Great Falls High, C.M. Russell, Missoula Big Sky, Missoula Hellgate, Missoula Sentinel, Columbia Falls, Polson, Glacier, Flathead and Whitefish.
UNUSUAL NAME: This tournament has been around at least 25 years, according to Whitefish coach Terry Nelson. It was originally called the Whitefish/Kalispell Invitational. Former Flathead coach Jim Smithwick-Hann is credited with calling it the Flatfish Invitational. That was in 1988.
LAST YEAR: Glacier's boys, led by medalist Larry Iverson, were 23 shots better than runner-up Whitefish. The CMR girls, led by medalist Natalie Beard, were 32 shots better than runner-up Whitefish.
TEAMS TO WATCH: Glacier and CMR, again. Both squads are talented, deep and have dominated tournament play thus far on the AA level. The Whitefish boys are solid, while the girls will be much stronger with the addition of BreAnna Cameron, who is recovering from ACL surgery. Cameron has been back in action for almost two weeks. "Her ball striking game is excellent," Nelson said. "Her chipping is good." Missoula Hellgate and Missoula Sentinel could also push for a top three spot in boys play.
INDIVIDUALS TO WATCH: There are plenty. For the girls, CMR has Rachel Solomon, Katie Fish, Taisha Bell and Cayley Fish. That group went 1-2-3-4 last week at the Electric City Invitational. Bell was third at the Flatfish last year. Whitefish's Kiley McConnell was the medalist at the Hamilton Invitational last Saturday, and Natalia Arlint of Polson finished third. For the boys, Glacier's Grahm Schmaltz is a multi-medalist this fall with teammate freshman Logan Iverson, a consistent top five scorer. Whitefish's Reed Platke is always battling for the lead spot on the leader board, along with Colin Gunstream of Hellgate. Joel Mallams of Whitefish is another contender. Platke finished second at this tournament last year, four shots off the pace, while Mallams was third and one stroke behind Platke.
WEATHER WATCH: How much of a factor it will play remains to be seen. The forecast is for much cooler temps, like in the 50s. That's a sharp contrast from playing in 80 and 90 degree weather all fall.
STATE PLAY FOLLOWS: This tournament marks the end to regular season. The Class A state tournament is set for Oct. 9-10 at Village Greens Golf Course. Class AA is Oct. 8-9 in Billings.