No. 3 Bulldogs pull out to big lead

PHOTO BY MATTHEW MILNER/MERIDIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast flexed its muscles Monday in Meridian in the first round since seeing a long conference winning streak snapped.

The Bulldogs shot 10-under at Briarwood Golf Club, the only team under par halfway through the Jim Redgate Invitational. Logan Jensen and Craig Bullock are tied atop the leaderboard after shooting 68s.

"I was proud of all the guys," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "I thought everybody played exceptionally well today and handled themselves with a lot of maturity, which is something we've been working on."

Gulf Coast leads Jones by 16 shots, with host Meridian another shot back. Jensen and Bullock are a shot ahead of Meridian's Daniel Young and Dax Reaux.

Jensen, a freshman from Diamondhead, was the only Bulldog under par on the front nine. He had two birdies on the front and offset his only bogeys on the back with four more birdies.

Bullock, a freshman from Ripley, had a bogey-free back nine with four birdies.

"They made a few putts that got them under par," Thornton said. "I think the entire team played the golf course well, and it was difficult today. There were tough conditions and a lot of excuses that could have been made, but I was really proud of how they stepped up and took their opportunities."

All four Gulf Coast counting scores were under par. Matthew Bond (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) and Paul Hoefer (Fr., Heidelberg, Germany/Kurpfalzgymnasium Mannheim) each shot 1-under and are tied for sixth.

Jayden Owensby (Fr., Hernando/Hernando) was 1-over and tied for ninth, and Noah Peters (Fr., London, England/Croxley Dane's School), playing as an individual, shot 3-over.

The Bulldogs bucked an early-season trend after making the turn at even par. They've tended to slump down the stretch, but not Monday. Their counting cards had 13 birdies with only three birdies.

"We've just got to stick to our routine and our gameplan," Thornton said. "The type of golf we play isn't dependent on who we're playing or whether we're leading or not. These guys are finally starting to grasp that concept. We knew that was going to be the case for an all-freshman team. The talent showed itself today."

The final round is Tuesday.

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