No. 1 Bulldogs put 4 atop leaderboard to win 5th straight
SAUCIER — No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast picked up its fifth straight tournament win Tuesday, beating No. 7 Meridian by 24 shots at the Gulf Coast Invitational.
The Bulldogs shot even-par over two days at Grand Bear Golf Club, and their dominance was also evident in the individual standings. Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) beat John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) in a playoff for medalist after they tied at 1-under.
"Those guys battled hard for 36 holes," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "Stan played exceptionally well on Monday and grinded out a round today. John Mark had big numbers on Monday but had an outstanding round today. Both had an opportunity to win, so I'm excited about the recognition they get for such a good tournament."
Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) was third at even, and Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) tied for fourth two more shots back.
"I'm proud of the team as a whole," Thornton said. "Garner and Peyton had a chance to win coming down the stretch. To have all four of those guys finish at the top of the leaderboard is great."
Mills narrowly missed a three-peat, having won the MGCCC Fall Invitational and the Titan Winter Invitational the last two times out. He started the day tied for 13th at 3-over, then tied for the low round of the event by firing 4-under 68. That matched Campbell's first round, and the competitors played off the tie on the 18th hole.
Campbell had five on Monday, and Mills had six birdies Tuesday.
"I always tell them in February you never really know what you're gonna get coming out of the break," Thornton said. "So far, we've had two really good weeks, but we've got a lot of work to improve on things. There are a lot of spots in our game we can work on over the next 2.5 weeks before we go up to Philadelphia. I'm excited to see the work these guys will put in and see even more improvements."
The Bulldogs return to competition March 3 for the two-day MACCC event hosted by East Central. The Warrior Classic will be played at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club.
Team scores |
|
| Team | Scores |
|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | 285-291—576 (E) |
| 2. Meridian | 295-305—600 (+24) |
| 3. Northeast Mississippi | 310-298—608 (+32) |
| 4. Enterprise State | 310-302—612 (+36) |
| 5. East Central | 292-323—615 (+39) |
| 6. Jones | 309-310—619 (+43) |
| 7. East Mississippi | 323-301—624 (+48) |
| 8. Hinds | 326-310—636 (+60) |
| 9. Pearl River | 327-315—642 (+66) |
| 10. Gulf Coast (B) | 321-322—643 (+67) |
| 11. Copiah-Lincoln | 308-337—645 (+69) |
| 12. Itawamba | 328-319—647 (+71) |
| 13. Northwest Mississippi | 331-318—649 (+73) |
| 14. Southwest Mississippi | 324-331—655 (+79) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T1. Stanley Campbell* | 68-75—143 (-1) |
| T1. John Mark Mills | 75-68—143 (-1) |
| 3. Garner Seymour | 69-75—144 (E) |
| T4. Peyton Russell | 73-73—146 (+2) |
| T21. Ludvig Behring | 75-79—154 (+10) |
| T21. Grayson Lockhart | 76-78—154 (+10) |
| T25. Andrew Miller | 77-79—156 (+12) |
| T44. Harlan Yerger | 82-81—163 (+19) |
| T62. Toby Janes | 86-84—170 (+26) |
| * — Won one-hole playoff for medalist | |
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
