Bellingham girls' golfers Brooke Branigan and Madi McNeely started off the season the same way the duo began 2012 by winning the season-opening Triple 3 Tournament on Thursday, March 7, at Burlington's Avalon Golf Course.

In a pairing format that combined three holes of best ball, three holes of scramble play and three holes of alternate shot, Branigan and McNeely topped 16 other groupings with a score of 34. Bellingham pairing Audrey Orem and Jenn Paul took second with a 35 and Blaine's Young Lee and Emily Greathouse finished third with a score of 41.

"Brooke and Madi won the tournament last year, and they had a strong showing," Bellingham coach Brad McKay said in a phone interview. "Our third team (Emma Lochridge and Alex Ferrier) also had good showing, placing eighth overall."

Seven teams competed, but Mount Baker was the only Whatcom County team besides Bellingham and Blaine. The duo of Laura Wilson and Emma Brown led the Mountaineers with a score of 45, and Bailey Backstrom and Erika Henderson recorded a 53. Wilson and Brown tied for fourth with Sedro-Woolley's Cassidy Brown and Samantha Brown, and Backstrom and Henderson placed ninth.

Bellingham and Mount Baker compete at Raspberry Ridge next at 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, while Blaine plays at Raspberry Ridge at 3 p.m. Monday, March 11.

At AVALON GOLF COURSE

Medalist: Brooke Branigan/Madi McNeely (Bellingham) 34, Audrey Orem/Jenn Paul (Bellingham) 35, Young Lee/Emily Greathouse (Blaine) 41

Bellingham: Brooke Branigan/Madi McNeely (Bellingham) 34, Audrey Orem/Jenn Paul 35, Emma Lochridge/Alex Ferrier 52

Mount Baker: Laura Wilson/Emma Brown 45, Baylee Backstrom/Erika Henderson 53

Blaine: Young Lee/Emily Greathouse 41

Mount Vernon: Rebecca Housh/Darby Hewitt 47, Alyssa Evans/Alisyn Schmidt 53, Jillian Kaufman/Carly Patrick 54

Burlington-Edison: Abby Atkinson/Erin Allen 50, Annie Brunson/Mariah Kelly 62, Sonja Eger/Lindzey Jaderlund 62

Anacortes: Jenna McCord/ Nota Tsitsiragos 68, Rebecca Cortez/Erika Hortsman 73

Sedro-Woolley: Cassidy Brown/Samantha Brown 45, Kirsten Jewell/Jayden Holmgren 62, Leonna Sligar/Kelsey Johnson 64