Portland State University’s women’s golf team is set to participate in the Fresno State Spring Classic next week at Fort Washington Country Club. The event will feature 11 teams, including tenth-ranked Pepperdine and Cal Poly, which is ranked 81st nationally. Other Big Sky Conference schools such as Weber State and Idaho State will also compete.
The Vikings began their spring season earlier this month at the Bowling Green Intercollegiate in Arizona, finishing 12th out of 15 teams with a total score of 928. Despite this result, the team has shown progress compared to last year, averaging four strokes better per round (303.9 compared to 307.8). This marks their best scoring average since the 2018-19 season.
Competing for Portland State at the upcoming tournament are seniors Bayler Brundage and Payten Shimizu, junior Cynthia Valerie Ong, sophomore Maddie Dustin, and freshman Caithlyn Ong. Cynthia Valerie Ong led the team at Bowling Green with rounds of 78-74-75 for a total of 227 and currently holds the team’s lowest scoring average this season at 75.47 strokes per round. Payten Shimizu follows closely with an average of 75.92 strokes per round; both players are on pace for career-best seasons.
The Fresno State Spring Classic will take place from March 2-3 and consists of two days of play—36 holes on Monday followed by 18 holes on Tuesday. Live scoring for the tournament can be accessed online at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/239493/scoring/team.
So far this season, Portland State’s best single-round team score is 294, while their top tournament score stands at 886. In terms of individual achievements over five tournaments: Cynthia Valerie Ong averages 75.47 across fifteen rounds; Payten Shimizu averages 75.92 over twelve rounds; Maddie Dustin averages 76.47 through fifteen rounds; Momo Udom has averaged 77 across nine rounds; Caithlyn Ong posts a mark of 77.50 after six rounds; Francesca Tomp averages an even seventy-eight through six rounds; Bayler Brundage comes in at an average of nearly seventy-nine after fifteen rounds.
For birdies made during these tournaments: Maddie Dustin leads with twenty-eight (including one eagle) over fifteen rounds, followed by Cynthia Valerie Ong with twenty-six birdies in fifteen rounds and Payten Shimizu with twenty-five birdies in twelve rounds.
Looking ahead, Portland State’s spring schedule includes three more tournaments before they compete in the Big Sky Conference Championship scheduled for April 20-22 in Litchfield, Arizona.
Bayler Brundage ranks twelfth all-time at Portland State for career rounds played (91), while Payten Shimizu sits eighteenth (84). In career scoring average rankings for Portland State golfers, Cynthia Valerie Ong is eighth (76.59), and Payten Shimizu thirteenth (77.55). For career birdies made during competition as a Viking golfer: Bayler Brundage ranks seventh (138) and Payten Shimizu ninth (131).
