MGCCC golf takes 9th at NJCAA tourney

Corey Ward finished 6th overall at the NJCAA Division II Tournament.

Corey Ward earns All-American honors with -1 performance

SCOTTSBORO, Al.---The best-case scenario for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College golf coach Tommy Snell was either to win or see a top-five finish by his Bulldog golfers at the NJCAA Division II Golf Tournament at Goose Pond Colony.

Instead, Snell and Gulf Coast got the next best thing…ninth place, which is a top 10 performance for a team made up mostly of freshmen.

“We achieved one of our goals, so I’m very pleased,” Snell said. “Yesterday was our toughest day but today we bounced back and made sure we stayed in the top ten.”

Gulf Coast sophomore Corey Ward shot 71on Friday to finish 1-under par for the four-day event, earning him NJCAA All-American honors. At one point during the second round, Ward was the tournament’s overall leader.

“Corey did exactly what I thought he’d do,” Snell added. “He played well here in the past so we thought he’d have a good week.”

The ninth place finish puts a nice bow on one of the better seasons in the history of the college’s golf program. In 2009, Gulf Coast won four out of five MACJC events and won back-to-back Region 23 titles.

“This has been a great experience,” Snell added. “It’s been so much fun. We have seven freshmen coming back, and we’re already looking forward to coming back in 2010.”

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Corey Ward 68-71-77-71 (287) -1
Nic Ishee 74-75-74-74 (297) +9
Richie Williams 73-75-79-75 (302) +14
Michael Wilkinson 78-76-79-80 (313) +25
Colin McNamara 78-76-80-83 +29

Team 293-2797-309-300 (1199) +45