Bulldogs head for 1st MACCC event

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast opens the MACCC golf season Monday at the Northeast Mississippi Fall Invitational in Corinth on Monday. 

"It's a long way to Corinth, but it's a good golf course," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "We've played there before and won there before. I'm not looking forward to the drive, but I'm looking forward to the competition."

Live scoring will be available at http://golfstat.com.

The Bulldogs opened the season this week with an 11-shot win at the one-day NJCAA District D Tournament Preview in Canton. The second-place team at that event was Northeast Mississippi, and the Tigers will be on their home course with two days to make a run at Gulf Coast. 

"I watched Northeast hit the ball (at Canton)," Snell said. "Derek (DeVaughn) has done a wonderful job recruiting. I'm telling you, they're going to be tough to beat up there. We're going to have to play really well. It seems like every year, each team gets better and better after each tournament. Northeast on their home track is going to be tough to beat."

Snell said his Bulldogs are playing better, too. Matt Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison) shot a career-low 68 during qualifying and was leading going into the final day of competition to make the five-person squad.

Reeves Johnson (Fr, Germantown/Madison), who finished second last week, shot a 72 and looks like he'll make it. Hayden Green (So, D'Iberville/Biloxi), Cade Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison), Peyton Norwood (So, Jackson Prep/Madison) and Chase Wilkinson (Fr, Madison Central/Madison) are within four shots of each other for the final three slots.

The Bulldogs will be looking to extend a streak of eight straight MACCC regular-season tournament wins dating back to 2018.

Gulf Coast, a perennial national power, ended the spring's abbreviated season ranked third in the country. There are no national rankings this fall.

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