DENVER -Utah Valley's Blair Bursey and NM State's Kristen Cline have been named Western Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Golfers of the Month, respectively, for September.
Bursey, a junior from Gander, Newfoundland, Canada (Gander Collegiate), was even par on the month, shooting a 213 at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate to tie for sixth and a 216 at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite to tie for 30th. Three of his six rounds this season have been under par, including two rounds of 69. Going back to last season, Bursey has finished in the top-10 in six of his last nine tournaments. He is among the early WAC leaders in stroke average at 71.50.
Cline, a senior from Socorro, N.M. (Socorro HS) had a pair of top-15 placings to lead the defending WAC champion Aggies into the new season. At the Red Raider Invitational, hosted by Texas Tech, she fired a 4-over-par 220 to tie for sixth among 75 golfers and lead NMSU to its first tournament title of the season. She followed that up with a 3-over-par 219 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, tying for 14th among 90 golfers as the Aggies took seventh as a team. Through six rounds, she holds to top stroke average in the WAC this season at 73.17.
Other men's nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Dominick Hoover finished the CSUB Roadrunner Invitational in a three-way tie as CSUB's leader, shooting a 13-over-par 229 … Grand Canyon's Billy Comeaux recorded a top-50 finish in the Lopes' premier event of the fall season, taking 48th at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate … UMKC's Jakob Gastecki tied for 28th at the Air Force Falcon Invitational, shooting 7-over-par 224 … Seattle U's Ross Kukula shot an even-par 216 at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite to cap a strong September leading the Redhawks … UT Rio Grande Valley's Michael Rizzo made his collegiate debut this month with a pair of strong performances, highlighted by a seventh place finish at the CSUB Roadrunner Invitational.
Other women's nominees: Chicago State's Isabella Miravite led the Cougars over the first month of the season, earning a ninth place finish at the Chi-Town Classic to help CSU earn a third place team finish … Grand Canyon's Deanna Salvatori took third at the Hobble Creek Fall Classic, shooting a 6-over-par 219 … UMKC's Chandler Gallagher posted a pair of top-25 finishes to open the 2016-17 season … Seattle U's Linette Chua tied for fifth at the Rose City Collegiate with a 1-over-par 217 … Utah Valley's Ana Raga posted the best finish of her collegiate career at the Bob Hurley ORU Shootout, shooting a 12-over-par 225 to finish in a tie for eighth place.