BILLINGS, Mont. \u2014 A back-nine swing decided the Class B state golf tournament at Lake Hills Golf Course, where Manhattan senior Blake Bentle erased a six-stroke deficit to win the boys title and Lone Peak senior Cate Leydig pulled away to claim the girls championship.<\/p>\n
Missoula Loyola\u2019s Zach Munding began the final round with a two-stroke lead over Malta\u2019s Regan Stuart as he tried to defend his state title.<\/p>\n
On the seventh hole, Munding missed a short putt and took a bogey, which let Stuart gain ground with a par.<\/p>\n
Munding answered on the ninth hole with a birdie and took a three-stroke advantage into the back nine.<\/p>\n
The tournament shifted there. Munding bogeyed four of his next five holes, opening the door for Bentle, who had trailed by six strokes earlier in the round.<\/p>\n
Bentle birdied two of his first three holes on the back nine and moved in front by three strokes through 14 holes.<\/p>\n
On the 15th, Munding made a long birdie putt to cut into the lead. Bentle carded a bogey on the same hole and his advantage dropped to one stroke.<\/p>\n
The two matched each other the rest of the way and Bentle finished at 3-over par to earn his first Class B state title in his final season.<\/p>\n
“I was pretty nervous a little bit, but I stayed pretty loose, honestly, throughout it. I knew Zach was going to be coming, I mean, especially when he made that birdie of that, that kind of made it tense a little bit. But yeah, I just tried to stick to my game and hit the shots I needed to hit ” Blake Bentle said.<\/p>\n
In the girls tournament, Leydig and Anaconda\u2019s Logan McKay started the day tied at the top of the leaderboard.<\/p>\n
Leydig built a two-stroke lead by the turn and then separated herself on the back nine.<\/p>\n
On a par-5, she hit a long drive, reached the green with her next shots and made the putt for an eagle.<\/p>\n
Leydig played the back nine at 2-under par and finished six strokes ahead to secure the Class B girls state championship, a feeling she says is bittersweet.<\/p>\n
“I feel like I was kind of in denial until I made the last putt and I realized, like, I’m done, four years of really hard work, and here we are, so, bittersweet but excited for the next chapters in my golf career, for sure.” Cate Leydig said.<\/p>\n
Lone Peak’s girls dominated winning the team title, with Florence and Anaconda finishing second and third, while the Florence boys took first place narrowly over Missoula Loyola and Manhattan.<\/p>\n