State AA golf: Bozeman's Cooper Knarr, Missoula Sentinel's Kade McDonough leading pack

MISSOULA — The State AA golf tournament teed off in Missoula on Thursday with Day 1 being held at the Larchmont Golf Course.

Teams began the day with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. spread across the course.

On the first nine holes, plenty of golfers struggled to read the greens and find good angles in. On the back, the field was further separated on both the girls and boys sides with golfers going under par on the nine.

• Photos: State AA golf Day 1

On the girls side, it was the Bozeman High team that stormed into the opening round on Thursday, giving the Hawks a good shot to win another team title.

The Hawks were led by golfers Cooper Knarr, Sami Yates and Franchi Ceartin, who finished the day first, second and third on the leaderboard, respectively.

Knarr leads the girls field after shooting a 4-over-par 76.

"Definitely just trying to hit fairways (Friday), because Missoula Country Club is a little bit tighter. I definitely want to stay consistent on the fairways and then after that, let it be what it is," said Knarr. "I just kind of remember that it’s just another tournament and to stay confident in myself and our team. Our team needs to be confident, everyone needs to be confident."

Yates shot a 78 and Ceartin shot a 79.

Butte's Ella Pridge finished the day tied in third place with a 7-over-par 79.

Kalispell Flathead's Marcella Mercer, who has been a dominant force in the Western AA this season, struggled on Day 1, finishing tied for eighth with an 11-over 83.

On the boys side, it was the Missoula Sentinel Spartans, Kalispell Glacier Wolfpack and Bozeman Gallatin Raptors who are fighting for the team title, with Sentinel's Kade McDonough leading the way.

Sentinel, Glacier, and Gallatin all have three golfers within the top 10 on the leaderboard. McDonough shot a 2-under-par 70, followed by Glacier's Tyler Avery and Gallatin's Jordan and Justus Verge, who each finished with 74s.

Avery dropped a shot on the par-4 18th hole by missing a foot-long putt. That missed putt gave McDonough a four-stroke lead heading into Friday.

"I hit my driver pretty well, then I bogeyed the first hole, so that was not good," said McDonough. "Four birdies after that and a bogey is pretty good. I didn’t putt as well as I would have liked to, but there’s always (Friday). Probably hitting fairways (Friday), because that course (MCC) is pretty tight. If I can hit fairways I can shoot low."

Day 2 tees off on Friday at Missoula Country Club with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m.

Here are the Day 1 girls results:

Here are the Day 1 boy's results: