Weber State junior Braylyn Bayer finished stroke play 1-under as the individual medalist on Monday and netted the No. 1 seed entering match play on Tuesday in her first-ever State Am appearance. Bayer, beginning her round on the 10th hole, rallied back from a double-bogey on 13 with an eagle and two birdies, including a 35-foot putt for birdie to begin the front nine.

Bayer, originally from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, roughly 27 miles south of the Canadian border, was joined by multiple Wildcats on Monday in Farmington, including former teammate and Utah Valley transfer Adley Nelson (T-10, 3-over), but it was Bayer’s 62-year-old father, Curt, who made the difference after traveling to Utah to serve as his daughter’s caddy in the first round of the week.

Curt let Bayer know of her positioning in the qualifier round on the ninth-hole green. Her father hauled 12 hours in the car to be on the bag.

“I’m just glad he doesn’t have to drive home tonight to go to work tomorrow,” Bayer said.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Bayer enters her third season with the Wildcats since Sara (Federico) Hogue recruited her as a 3A standout at Bonners Ferry High School in Idaho. Rich Friend became the program’s full-time head coach last summer.

Wildcat golf great and six-time State Amateur champion Kelsey Chugg tied for seventh at 2-over; active WSU golfer Salina Lui missed the cut at 8-over. Of her tight college circle, Bayer said the opportunity to represent her school at the State Amateur is one of a kind.

“It’s really special, I can’t say it enough – I love Weber,” Bayer said.

“Sara Federico gave me an opportunity my freshman year; Rich (Friend) has been so amazing my sophomore year as the head coach. I got to play with one of my old teammates (Adley Nelson), so that was super fun. There’s a lot of really good players (and) Weber has amazing people.”

Her sophomore year featured three top-20 finishes (including an individual victory at The Ranch Club in Missoula, Montana) and six rounds of even-par or better, but Monday’s medalist finish marked the first of its kind for Bayer at an amateur event.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Bayer set herself up with short irons to the green on Monday with strong tee shots and a comfortable path to the green, where she caught a rhythm with four different birdie putts. Bayer’s practice round, last Thursday, was her first time at Oakridge.

“I always feel pretty comfortable if I can just get it on the green and to putt out and catch a few good putts to birdie and I think this course sets up well for that,” Bayer said. “The green are bigger, so even if my iron games a little off, I can normally have a decent putt to get a good look.”

Entering match play as the No. 1 seed, Bayer has minimal experience with the head-to-head format – a college event in Palm Springs, California, and another through the Pacific Northwest Golf Association – but she’s looking forward to Tuesday’s Round of 32 assignment.

“I think I can make a run, but there are a lot of really good players playing, so it’ll be fun to see how it goes,” Bayer said.

NORTHERN UTAH QUALIFIERS TO NOTE

• Braylyn Bayer, 1-under, 71

• Kelsey Chugg, 2-over, 74

• Adley Nelson, 3-over, 75

• Sydney Richards, 3-over, 75

• Arden Louchheim, 4-over, 76

• Grace Summerhays, 4-over, 76

• Remi Rawlings, 5-over, 77

• Stephanie Belnap, 6-over, 78

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.