PORTLAND, Ore. – Kortney McNeil started her 2017 spring golf season with a bang, and the Montana State University Billings sophomore was rewarded with Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors announced Monday.
 
McNeil posted her best individual round of the season to date, shooting a 74 in the opening round of the Beaver-Jacket Invite over the weekend in Las Vegas. The Billings native wound up finishing second overall at the event, posting a two-round total of 155 (74-81).
 
"I was pleased to see that Kortney got GNAC Player of the Week," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "For her first tournament after the long winter, I thought she played very well. Her strengths this weekend were her accuracy off the tee and her consistent play throughout both days."
 
McNeil's big effort helped the Yellowjackets run away with the team title, as MSUB scored a total of 629 (310-319) to win the event by 42 strokes. McNeil and all four of her teammates finished within the top-10 at the event.
 
This is the second GNAC weekly honor of McNeil's career, as she was also named GNAC Golfer of the Week for Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2015 as a freshman. She earned second-team all-GNAC honors last season as well, after a record-setting year with the second-lowest scoring average in MSUB history at 78.2 strokes per round.
 
Overall, this is the third GNAC weekly honor for MSUB's women's golf team during the 2016-17 season. Juniors Bailee Dexter and Sammy Walter each earned GNAC Player of the Week during the fall for the 'Jackets.
 
MSUB is next in action at the Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Invitational, which runs March 20-21 in Seaside, Calif., at Bayonet Golf Course.