Wilkinson dominates, Gulf Coast wins
PERKINSTON — Matt Wilkinson fired the only two under-par rounds in the MGCCC Spring Invitational, and he led No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast to a five-shot win over No. 8 Meridian.
"Matt won by nine," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "It's hard to medalist period. When you when medalist by nine, that's really playing well."
Wilkinson thought about playing conservative after getting five shots ahead of the field on Monday. Instead, he decided to keep attacking. He putted well again and thing worked out for him.
"It definitely gives me more confidence for the rest of the season," he said. "I've always been kind of a timid golfer, but this gives me some confidence under my belt and shows people I can get in there and win."
The Bulldogs finished 21 shots ahead of No. 6 Northeast Mississippi. Gulf Coast shot 38-over on a tough Windance Country Club course.
Reeves Johnson (Fr, Germantown/Madison) finished in third at 9-over to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team, along with Hayden Russell (Fr, Gautier/Gautier) who shot 13-over on the MGCCC B team to finish tied for sixth.
"When he won by nine, you'd think our team would win going away, but we didn't," Snell said. "We have some work to do, and the kids recognize that. Sometimes when you can win ugly like that, it's a good thing. Football coaches talk about that all the time."
Gulf Coast has won two of three full MACCC tournaments, plus the MACCC and NJCAA District D tourney previews. The next MACCC event will be hosted by Copiah-Lincoln on March 3-4.
Team scores |
|
| Team | Scores |
|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | 310-304—614 (+38) |
| 2. Meridian | 316-303—619 (+43) |
| 3. Northeast Mississippi | 319-316—635 (+59) |
| 4. Itawamba | 347-321—668 (+92) |
| 5. Copiah-Lincoln | 339-335—674 (+98) |
| 6. Southwest Mississippi | 345-359—704 (+128) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Matt Wilkinson | 71-71—142 (-2) |
| 3. Reeves Johnson | 77-76—153 (+9) |
| T6. Hayden Russell* | 79-78—157 (+13) |
| T8. Hayden Green | 80-78—158 (+14) |
| T12. Dawson Thompson* | 79-81—160 (+16) |
| 14. Peyton Norwood* | 86-75—161 (+17) |
| T15. Cade Wilkinson* | 85-77—162 (+18) |
| 22. Ethan Trouth | 86-79—165 (+21) |
| T23. Chase Wilkinson | 82-84—166 (+22) |
| T31. Dawson Cudd* | 89-85—174 (+30) |
| * — Played as individuals | |
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