LONGMONT, Colo. – On the very first swing of his collegiate career, Montana State University Billings freshman Scott Larson drained a hole-in-one out of the 11th tee box at Fox Hills Golf Club in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference #1 Tournament on Monday.
 
"I was just trying to follow Rhett (Hightower)'s advice; hit the green and make par," Larson commented when asked what his mindset was stepping into the tee box. "Right when I hit it, it felt good and it was going at the stick. When it landed I thought I saw it go in, and when I got up there sure enough it was. I was more in shock than anything, it was the first swing of my career."
 
"I am very excited for Scott as hitting a hole in one in your first college golf tournament on your first hole is an extraordinary moment," commented MSUB head coach Shawn O'Brien. "That will be a moment that Scott will cherish for a long time."
 
For Larson, a Kalispell, Mont., native, the ace on the 192-yard, par-3 11th hole was the second of his life, as he also drained a hole-in-one his junior year of high school on a hole almost the same distance.
 
The Yellowjackets finished the first day of the tournament in 10th place among the 12-team field, holding a score of 614 (299-315) through the first two rounds of play.
 
Michael Porter led the way for MSUB, finishing with a 149 (70-79) to sit in a tie for 20th place in his first two rounds as a Yellowjacket.
 
Larson wound up three strokes behind Porter, shooting a 152 (78-74) in his MSUB debut. Junior Connor Miele is tied for 40th after shooting a 154 (73-81) on Day 1, and Parker Bradbury (160, 78-82) and Braden Luper (165, 84-81) are close behind for MSUB.
 
"I am very proud of the way the men started the tournament, as we were only a few shots from the top of the leaderboard after the first round," O'Brien said. "Michael Porter had a great opening round at 2-under par, which helped carry our team. However, we struggled a little bit in the second round, causing us to fall on the leaderboard."
 
Leading the team race so far is Colorado State-Pueblo, which shot a 573 (280-293) and holds a two-stroke lead over University of Colorado Colorado Springs. CSU-P's Neil Tillman is the individual leader with one round to play, after shooting a 5-under par 139 (66-73) on Day 1.
 
The third and final round tees off at 8 a.m. Mountain time Tuesday morning as the Yellowjackets look to finish their debut tournament of 2015-16 strongly.
 
"If we can finish our last few holes better tomorrow, I feel we will have a significant improvement from Round 2," O'Brien said. "We have a very young and inexperienced team, and I believe although our second round was not our best, it was a vital learning experience. I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings."