No. 1 Bulldogs lurk just off lead after first 18

The Mississippi Gulf Coast men's golf team left the first event of last season with a little bit of a sour taste in their mouths. In the tee off to the 2024-25 season, the Bulldogs are off to a much better start.

They wrapped up the first round of the prestigious Folds of Honor Challenge in second place, three shots off the lead.

The Bulldogs, the defending NJCAA Division II national champion ranked first in the preseason coaches poll, shot 4-over 288 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State course in Allendale, Mich. They trail only Aurora, which is the 16^th-ranked team in NCAA Division II.

"These are guys who want to go play at the next level," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "To have the opportunity to compete directly against some of those players and teams who are already there shows that these guys work hard, they're dedicated and competitive. They're not going to shy away from any challenge. The opportunity to compete against these teams is awesome."

Gulf Coast has three golfers in the top eight, led by John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) who sits atop the leaderboard after a 69. Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) is tied for second at 1-under, and Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) is even and tied for fifth.

"The course conditions were as firm and fast as I've seen them here," Thornton said. "The wind picked up, and we had three sophomores who picked up right where they left off last year. They had three outstanding rounds today under very difficult conditions on a tough golf course. I'm very proud of them."

Gulf Coast is four strokes ahead of NCAA Division II 15^th-ranked West Texas A&M, and eight ahead of NCAA Division III Illinois Wesleyan. Host Grand Valley State, ranked seventh in NCAA Division II, is fourth at 13-over in the 10-team field.

The field also includes Odessa, the top-ranked team in NJCAA Division I, which is 19 shots back of Gulf Coast in sixth. Grand Rapids, the only other community college in the field, is 10^th at 63-over.

Last year, the Bulldogs were in 11th place after the first day, which included 36 holes. The second day was rained out.

Mills had four birdies, and Russell had an adventurous second nine. He eagled the fourth hole, then double-bogeyed the eighth. Russell didn't slump, making birdie on the next three holes to finish strong.

After stumbling in his first tournament at Gulf Coast, Harlan Yerger (Fr., Oxford/Oxford) found his game and provided the fourth scoring card. He finished 7-over but was even-par over the final seven holes.

The second round will be Monday morning, with a 9:30 a.m. ET shotgun start. The 54-hole event concludes Tuesday. Live scoring can be found at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournament-leaderboard/234235/scoring/team.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.