Graziani narrowly misses record in debut
Mississippi Gulf Coast's Alessio Graziani made his collegiate debut a memorable one Monday, finishing the first day of the Derrall Foreman Invitatoinal tied for the first after nearly matching the course record.
He shot 63 in the opening round at the Cleveland Country Club, and followed that up with a 66 to tie Union University's J.J. Zimmer for the lead after 36 holes.
"Alessio has definitely announced himself. That was a career-best round for him. It wa ssomething special to watch him play today. He really got it going."
The five Bulldog golfers shot even-par or better in eight of their 10 rounds and are in sixth place out of 10 teams. Five of the teams in front of them are NCAA Division II schools. Central Alabama, which plays in NJCAA Division I, shot a tournament-record 29-under in the first round and led by 8 over host Delta State at the end of the day.
Gulf Coast is ahead of two other MACCC schools in the field. Meridian is six shots back headed into the final round.
The fifth-ranked Bulldogs teed off on the back nine in the first 18 Monday, and Graziani (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa/Beaulieu College) made his big move at the turn. He eagled No. 18, the holed out from 85 yards on No. 1 for back-to-back eagles. Graziani finished the second 18 strong by making birdie on three of the last four holes.
All five Gulf Coast golfers finished under par after 36 holes. Reeves Johnson (So., Madison/Germantown) shot 4-under, and Ethan Trouth (So., Sutton Coldfield, England/The Streetly Academy) was another shot back. Matt Wilkinson (So., Madison/Madison Central) and David Beard (Fr., Madison/Madison Central) both ended up 1-under.
"I was really pleased with how we came out and played," Thornton said. "We played really well in the first round and were up there with some of the four-year schools. We came out strong to start the second round, but there was a lot of fatigue at the end. The guys aren't used to paying 36 holes in conditions like this."
Team scores |
|
| School | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Central Alabama | 259-269—528 (-48) |
| 2. Delta State | 272-264—536 (-40) |
| 3. Mississippi College | 273-270—543 (-33) |
| 4. Shorter University | 272-272—544 (-32) |
| 5. Union University | 283-264—547 (-29) |
| 6. Gulf Coast | 275-274—549 (-27) |
| 7. Meridian | 277-278—555 (-21) |
| 8. Northeast Mississippi | 284-275—559 (-17) |
| 9. Arkansas-Monticello | 289-284—573 (-3) |
| 10. Itawamba | 306-291—597 (+21) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T1. Alessio Graziani | 63-66—129 (-15) |
| 32. Reeves Johnson | 72-68—140 (-4) |
| T33. Ethan Trouth | 70-71—141 (-3) |
| T41. Matt Wilkinson | 74-69—143 (-1) |
| T41. David Beard | 70-73—143 (-1) |
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
