No. 2 Bulldogs rally for 8th win

No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast powered away from a strong field Tuesday, finishing off a comeback to win the GlenLakes Invitational by seven shots in Foley, Ala.

The Bulldogs, who trailed by 10 shots after the first round and six after the second, finished 22-over at the GlenLakes Golf Club. They were 12 shots better than No. 6 Eastern Florida State and 16 better than Wallace State, which had started the day in second and first place, respectively.

"Top to bottom, we were solid," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "I thought we had an exceptional day. We really applied the pressure early. We talked about coming out and staying consistent to begin the round, and we did. We carried that through all day."

Gulf Coast won its eighth tournament of the season and sixth in a row. The Bulldogs are one short of tying the program record for wins in a season. They did it by shooting the low round of the 54-hole tournament, carding a 1-over 289.

Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) shot even-par 72 to finish tied for third and make the All-Tournament Team. He was playing as an individual, which meant his score didn't even count toward the team total.

"We've known throughout the year we've got a lot of depth," Thornton said. "It showed this week. Now we've got top to bottom a really solid team. I'm very glad to have that problem. I'll have to make decisions coming down the stretch, but I can tell you this, there's a lot of other coaches who would like that issue."

Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral) shot 2-under in the final round to finish fifth. His was one of only nine sub-par rounds in the tournament, and Zielinksi and teammate Kyle Davidson (Fr., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) joined him in that company.

"I don't think Chase ever got flustered," Thornton said. "He could not have putted any worse this week and still had a chance to get into a playoff coming down the stretch. That says a lot about his game and where we're at as a team."

Davidson finished tied for seventh at 5-over. Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep) was tied for 10^th two more shots back, and Jackson Wise (Fr., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc) was tied for 13^th at 9-over. Gulf Coast had five golfers in the top 15.

Eastern Florida State is ranked sixth in the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division I Coaches Poll, and Wallace State is receiving votes in those rankings. Gulf Coast plays in Division II.

Gulf Coast will have a chance to tie the school record for wins in a season in the final regular-season MACCC event of the year. The 2019 national championship team won nine times that year.

"We head into Meridian the Sunday after spring break, and it will take a lot of focus for us to win at their place," Thornton said. "They're going to be ready for us, but these guys know exactly what the goal is. We're trying to achieve it here in a couple of weeks."

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