FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 9, 2022) – In their final tune-up for the Big Sky Championship, the Northern Arizona golf team will compete in the Bobcat Desert Classic at the Golf Club of Estrella (par-72, 6,136 yards) this upcoming Monday and Tuesday in Goodyear, Ariz. Monday will consist of 36 holes followed by 18 holes on Tuesday with shotgun starts of 7:30 a.m. opening each day.
NAU will making its first-ever appearance at the Bobcat Desert Classic and the tournament will serve as the Lumberjacks' final before taking on the rest of the conference at the 2022 Big Sky Championship beginning Monday, April 18 at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale.
The Bobcat Desert Classic will be a preview of sorts of the conference championship with eight teams, including NAU, from the Big Sky composing the 11-team field. The 'Jacks will be joined by Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah and Weber State from the league in addition to Dixie State, Santa Clara and Utah Valley.
Santa Clara, the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic team champion earlier this week, leads the field coming in at No. 98 in this week's Golfstat National Rankings. NAU is the next highest ranked team at No. 112.
While Santa Clara won the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, NAU placed 13
th of 22 teams. The Lumberjacks shot 48-over par 912 (304-305-303), but despite it being their second-highest score of the season they still managed to top every Big Sky team in the tournament, which completed on Tuesday.
Senior
Elle Kocourkova was the Lumberjacks' top finisher for the second consecutive tournament, tying for 34th individually at 8-over par 224 (72-74-78). Kocourkova, who holds the second-lowest round average on the team (74.74) behind sophomore
Ekaterina Malakhova (74.65), is also one off Malakhova's team-lead with 55 birdies.
In addition to leading the team with 56 birdies and in scoring average, Malakhova also has recorded a team-high seven par or better rounds, one more than her season average from a year ago with two tournaments still left to play.
After Kocourkova, senior
Aleksandra Chekalina was NAU's next best finisher at the Cowgirl Classic as she tied for 50th with a score of 13-over par 229 (80-73-76). Chekalina and senior
Ashley Croft are tied with a 76.70 stroke average this season.
Junior
Lorel Hayward enters the Bobcat Desert Classic with a stroke average of 77.81, which continues to be four strokes better than last year.
Fans can follow live scoring on
GolfStat.
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