The Portland State Women's Golf program will open its 2024-25 season on Monday at the Kelsey Chugg Invitational in Eden, UT.
 
The Vikings will play in the 54-hole event, hosted by Weber State, over two days. It will be the first of four fall tournaments and nine total tournaments for the season. The Vikings will get an early measure of their team as five other Big Sky Conference schools will take part.
 
PSU returns a small but experienced team under the guidance of fourth-year Head Coach Bill Winter.
 
Senior Tannica Porter, who will compete in her third season for the Vikings, is the returning scoring leader after compiling a 75.72 scoring average last season. Porter had three top-10 finishes, including an outstanding tie for eighth place at the Big Sky Conference Championship, posting 71-73-71=215. Porter has proven that when she stays healthy she can go low, having recorded seven rounds of 73 or better last season.
 
Juniors Bayler Brundage and Payten Shimizu are also third-year players in the program. Both saw significant improvements as sophomores. Shimizu improved by 2.16 strokes per round over her freshman season to a 77.00 scoring average, third-best on the team. Shimizu was the team scoring leader in two tournaments. Brundage also improved by nearly two strokes per round to a 79.43 average. Brundage had a strong showing in the Big Sky Championship, including a career-best matching round of 73 and career-best tournament score of 226.
 
Sophomores Cynthia Valerie Ong and Momo Udom also return after lettering as freshmen. Ong was fourth on the team in scoring at 77.10. She finished the season strong with a 73.83 average over the final two tournaments. Udom's scoring average was 80.00 as a freshman. She proved the ability to score with three rounds of 73 during the season.
 
Initial qualifying this week has the Vikings opening with the following seeding: 1, Bayler Brundage; 2, Cynthia Ong; 3, Payten Shimizu; 4, Tannica Porter; and 5, Momo Udom.
 
This fall, Portland State will also compete in the Eagle Invitational (Sept. 22-23) and the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). The Vikings will bring back their home tournament for the first time since 2019. The Portland State Invitational takes place Oct. 14-15 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland.
 
TAP INS

• Portland State placed eighth at the 2024 Big Sky Championship last April. The Vikings shot scores of 297-297-299=893 over the par-71 Wigwam Golf Club Blue Course in Litchfield, AZ. It was the first time in five years that PSU had broken 900 at the Big Sky Championship.
• The Vikings had a team scoring average of 304.7 in 2023-24. That was a 2.7 strokes per round improvement over 2022-23, and the best scoring average in five years. It ranks as the sixth-best scoring average in the 27-year history of the program... PSU had a season-low round of 292 and twice shot 893 for a low 54-hole tournament total.
• Tannica Porter led the team with 47 birdies in 21 competitive rounds last season, including 12 at the Big Sky Championship.
• The Viking team has done outstanding work in the classroom, maintaining a 3.82 team GPA during the 2023-24 academic year. All six players on last year's roster earned Academic All-Conference honors with four earning Academic All-District.

 

KELSEY CHUGG INVITATIONAL

Date: Sept. 16-17
Course: Wolfcreek Golf Club
Par/Yardage: 72/6,135 yards?
Live scoring: www.golfstat.com?
Play: 36 holes of continuous play on Monday. 18 holes of play on Tuesday. 9 a.m. MT shotgun start each day.
Live scoring: www.golfstat.com
Teams competing (11): Weber State, Idaho, Idaho State, Cal Baptist, Utah Tech, Montana, Montana State, Utah Valley, Creighton, Southern Utah, Portland State.
 

2024-25 SEASON SCHEDULE

FALL SEASON
Sept. 16-17, Kelsey Chugg Invitational, Wolfcreek Golf Club, Eden, UT, hosted by Weber State     
Sept. 22-23, Eagle Invitational, Circling Raven Golf Course, Worley, ID, hosted by Eastern Washington
Sept. 30-Oct. 1, Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational, Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Tacoma, WA, hosted by Seattle          
Oct. 14-15, Portland State Invitational, Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland, OR, hosted by Portland State
           
SPRING SEASON
Feb. 10-12, Mountain Classic Match Play, The Classic Club, Palm Desert, CA, hosted by Wyoming and Boise State          
Feb. 15-17, Alice and John Wallace Women's Golf Classic Monterey Country Club, Palm Desert, CA, hosted by Long Beach State          
Mar. 31-Apr. 1 Fresno State Classic, Copper River Country Club, Fresno, CA, hosted by Fresno State        
Apr. 7-9, Bobcat Desert Classic, The Golf Club of Estrella, Goodyear, AZ, hosted by Montana State           
Apr. 14-16, Big Sky Championship, Wigwam Golf Club - Blue Course, Litchfield, AZ