No. 1 MGCCC moves atop leaderboard with 18 left

PLYMOUTH, Ind. — No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast reversed a four-shot deficit in Thursday's third round of the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship, taking that margin atop the leaderboard headed into the final round.

Stanley Campbell and John Mark Mills led the Bulldogs, each shooting 3-under to propel their team to a round of 1-over during another challenging weather day at Swan Lake Golf Club. Gulf Coast posted the lowest round of the tournament, finishing 1-over on a day when scores began soaring.

"We played really well," Bulldogs coach Brad Thornton said. "The conditions are still difficult, even though we got out early this morning. It was really cold, and obviously the wind picked up. You're going to see scores continue to rise throughout the afternoon. I'm unbelievably proud of our start.

The Bulldogs trailed unranked Illinois Central when their round started bright and early Thursday. The leaders started the third round earlier than normal because teams were finishing the second round.

Campbell, a sophomore from London, England, birdied 3, 5 and 8 to make the turn at 2-under. The second-ranked golfer according to the Clippd National Collegiate Golf Rankings bounced back from a bogey on 11 to get to 6-under for the tournament. Campbell, the only golfer with three below-par rounds, is three shots ahead of Illinois Central's Trey Boecker.

"I've said this whole year, I'm going to win," he said. "I'm in a really good position, and I've got to put my money where my mouth is."

Mills, a sophomore from Pontotoc, sprinted more than 20 spots up the leaderboard into the top 10. The third-ranked golfer began the day at 8-over and started birdie-bogey before making eagle on five. He made the turn at 1-under, adding birdies on 11 and 17.

"I just focused on self-confidence," Mills said. "I kind of let that get low after the first two rounds. I gave myself a little cocky pep talk, and told myself I'm a First-Team All-American and I'm built for situations like this. I stepped into every shot with confidence; that made a big change today."

Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) shot 2-over, and Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) was 5-over Thursday.

The Bulldogs posted another great back nine Thursday, coming in at even-par. They're even for the week on Swan Lake's Black Course final nine holes, which have chewed up a few Gulf Coast teams here in the past.

"We finally got through that front nine with a little bit of confidence, and then we finished all three rounds really well," Thornton said. "So that's the message to the guys, let's finish tomorrow the same way." 

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