GREAT FALLS — Jordan Verge may be the best golfer who’s never won an individual Class AA state championship, but based on his play Friday at the Eastern AA tournament the Bozeman Gallatin senior may very well be the player to beat next week at the state meet in Bozeman.
Verge blistered the 6,400-yard Eagle Falls course with a 7-under-par 64 — matching the lowest score ever posted there by a high school player, joining Billings West's Jake Hedge in 2009 — on his way to a 134 total and a six-stroke victory. In second place — for a change — was twin brother Justus Verge, a two-time state champion who shot 68 on Friday after an opening 72.
The Raptors easily won the team trophy with a 36-hole total of 568, which was 46 strokes better than Billings Senior. Billings Skyview was third at 628, followed by Bozeman at 662. The top four teams advance to the state meet next Thursday and Friday at Cottonwood Golf Course in Bozeman.
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All five Raptors finished in the top 10. Tye Boone of Billings Skyview was third at 146 and Eli Groshelle of Great Falls CMR tied for fourth at 146 along with Ramey Lloyd of Gallatin and first-round leader Reece Mayala of Billings Senior.
In the girls division, Bella Johnson of West took the individual medal with rounds of 78-81 for 159, one stroke better than Lauren Mayala of Senior, who fired 77 on Friday for the lone sub-80 round of the day. West was the team champion at 675 as the best four Golden Bear scorers finished at 176 or below.
Senior was second at 690, followed by Bozeman at 697 and Gallatin at 707. All four qualify for state.
The top-10 boys and girls who didn’t play for the top-four teams also qualify for the state AA tournament. This is the third year the state’s largest schools have used a divisional format to whittle down the field at the state meet.