GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Shooting a career-low round of 78 on Saturday afternoon at Palm Valley Golf Club, senior Sydney Rochford led the Montana State University Billings women's golf team in the final round of the RJGA Palm Valley Classic.
 
Rochford finished in a tie for 69th place among a field of 107 golfers on the par-72, 6,005-yard course, as she shot a career-best two-round score of 160 (82-78). "Sydney played fantastic this week," MSUB assistant coach Marcus Drange said. "She stayed patient and hit consistent shots to play to her strengths. She was able to get up and down all day long with a lot of good par saves en route to her collegiate career low."
 
The Yellowjackets shot a season-best team score of 315 on Saturday, and finished the event in 16th place among a field of 20 teams with a two-round score of 632 (317-315). "I am very proud of our performance this week," said Drange. "To post the season low team score yesterday and then better that in Round 2 really shows the improvement this team has made. This team is resilient and I saw that through the difficult holes that each girl experienced today."
 
Rochford notched a pair of birdies throughout her round, and saved her best set of nine holes for last. The senior kicked off the front-nine with a birdie on the par-4, 330-yard first hole, and stayed steady with a 2-over-par 38 to finish the tournament. "I kept the ball in play off the tee all day and putted fearlessly with the mindset that the ball was going to go in the hole," Rochford said. "If I missed, it didn't matter because the next one was going in. I started with birdies on both sides which really got the momentum going. My short game really made the difference today."
 
Avery Gill also shot her career best as a Yellowjacket, matching Rochford with a 78 on Saturday. Gill's final round at the event featured nothing worse than a bogey on the scorecard, as she shot back-to-back 3-over-par 39s to finish strong. Gill's lone birdie on the day came on the par-4, 355-yard fourth hole. She finished in a tie for 54th place with a two-round total of 158 (80-78).
 
Tierney Messmer was MSUB's top finisher at the event, tying for 32nd place with a career-best two-round score of 154 (76-78). She followed Friday's season-best 76 with a 78, making two more birdies on the par-5, 455-yard fifth and par-4, 355-yard 15th holes her second time through the course.
 
Kinsey Irvin also finished in a tie for 69th place, as she matched Rochford with a 160 979-81. Irvin led MSUB with three birdies on Saturday, all of which came during a stretch of 3-under-par golf over holes 12-through-17. That helped the junior to a 1-over-par 37 on the back-nine, as she started her second round strong on Saturday.
 
Jalen Wagner finished the event in 105th place, shooting a two-round score of 176 (90-86). Wagner shaved off four strokes between rounds.
 
Nicola Kaminski of Point Loma Nazarene University won the tournament with a two-round score of 142 (74-68). Kaminski shot a tournament-low 4-under-par 68 on Saturday to edge Day 1 leader Sarah Wongsinth of Texas A&M Commerce by a single stroke. PLNU took home the team title with a two-round score of 582 (297-285), which was enough to hold off second-place Oklahoma Christian by six strokes.
 
THE BUZZ: Rochford was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…her previous single-round career best was an 82, set on Oct. 1, 2018 at the Rocky Mountain College Invitational…her previous two-round career best was 169, at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational on Sept. 10-11, 2018…Gill's previous low-round score as a Yellowjacket came on Sept. 16, 2019 at the True North Classic…Messmer's previous two-round best was a 157, at the Yellowjacket Fall Invite on Sept. 10-11, 2018…MSUB's low-round team score entering the week was a 327, reached on March 1 at the Pioneer Shootout.
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets square off against Rocky Mountain College next week in the annual Leslie Spalding Cup in Billings. The three-day event runs April 8-10 at three different courses in the Magic City.
 
"Each player still has room to improve and I think that we will see that next week at the Spalding Cup," Drange said. "As a team we were able to beat a few conference opponents this week and I feel that gave our girls a big confidence boost as we will see them at our conference championship in two weeks."
 
RJGA Palm Valley Classic
Final Results – April 3, 2021
Palm Valley Golf Course – Goodyear, Arizona
Team – 1. Point Loma Nazarene, 582 (297-285); 16. MSU Billings, 632 (317-315). Individual – 1. Nicola Kaminski, PLNU, 142 (74-68); T32. Tierney Messmer, MSUB, 154 (76-78); T54. Avery Gill, MSUB, 158 (80-78); T69. Kinsey Irvin, MSUB, 160 (79-81); T69. Sydney Rochford, MSUB, 160 (82-78); 105. Jalen Wagner, 176 (90-86).