FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 28, 2021) – After an up-and-down 2021 debut two weeks ago, the Northern Arizona golf team returns to the links in Phoenix on Monday for the start of the GCU Invitational. The tournament, hosted by Grand Canyon, will be contested at the GCU Championship Golf Course (par-72, 6,171 yards) with 36 holes scheduled for Monday and 18 holes to follow on Tuesday.
"It was obviously nice to get back into competition, but it was obviously frustrating because we did some good things and then we'd shoot ourselves in the foot and make a really big score," said head coach
Brad Bedortha about the team's performance at the Rebel Beach Invitational. "It's hard to be competitive when you're making eights, nines and 12s. But I'm very optimistic because we've had some great practices since then and I believe that if we continue to do the great things we're doing, great results will happen."
Play in Phoenix will begin both days with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
Last season, Grand Canyon won its home tournament, which was shortened to 36 holes due to rain, by one stroke over California Baptist. NAU will join both teams among a field of 15 teams, which will also include four other Big Sky schools (Eastern Washington, Montana State, Idaho and Southern Utah).
NAU will actually get a good look at fellow conference competitors Montana State and Eastern Washington, as the Lumberjacks are paired with the Bobcats and Eagles along with UC Riverside to begin the tournament. Idaho was picked second – directly ahead of NAU – in the Big Sky Preseason Poll and Montana State was voted eighth.
The Lumberjacks placed 13th two weeks ago at the Rebel Beach Invitational in Las Vegas, shooting a three-round score of 68-over par 932 (311-308-313). It was NAU's first competition in 11 months following the end of the 2020 season's cancelation due to COVID-19.
Junior
Ashley Croft, one of five Lumberjacks in the lineup for this week's tournament in Phoenix, was NAU's top finisher in Vegas. Croft earned her second career Big Sky Golfer of the Week award after tying for 12th on the leaderboard at 7-over par 223 (77-73-73). Her performance is the third-best by an individual in the conference in the early portion of the 2021 season.
Joining Croft in the lineup this week will be junior
Aleksandra Chekalina, freshman
Ekaterina Malakhova, junior
Elle Kocourkova and graduate student
Klara Kucharova.
Chekalina and Malakhova were both derailed by one round in the 80s respectively two weeks ago, which put a damper on an otherwise solid performance. As a result both players tied for 54th at 18-over par 234, with Chekalina shooting 82-74-78 and Malakhova recording rounds of 74-77-83.
Kocourkova tied for 67th at 26-over par 242 (79-84-79) and Kucharova was a few spots behind in a tie for 69th at 27-over par 243 (82-78-83). Kucharova will making her debut in the NAU lineup after playing her first tournament as a Lumberjack as an individual.
"We're going in the right direction and we're on the verge of being competitive at a lot of events," Bedortha said. "Regardless of how we performed at our first tournament, I don't think that'll be indicative of how we'll perform the rest of the year."
The Lumberjacks battled inclement weather at last year's GCU Invitational and started strong finishing the first round in sixth on the team leaderboard. However, NAU fell to 10th by the end of the 36-hole tournament, closing at 31-over par 607 (300-307).
Croft, who played that tournament as an individual, tied for 14th at 3-over par 147 (73-74), while Chekalina and sophomore
Alyza Flores – who has yet to make her 2021 season debut – tied for 18th at 5-over par 149.
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