No. 1 Bulldogs claim ninth title

Numbers almost always tell the story in golf, and for No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast there are some impressive stories being weaved this season.

The Bulldogs finished a sweep of all six MACCC regular-season tournaments by beating No. 9 Meridian by 21 shots in MCC's Lou Hart Invitational on Tuesday. That's seven tournaments in a row, and they've tied the school record with nine wins in a season.

"That's huge," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "It's a testament to the hard work these guys have put in and their commitment from August all the way to this point. I think we're resetting our goals for the postseason and preparing for that. "

Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep) won his second tournament of the season in a dogfight with Meridian's Lexton Ford at Northwood Country Club. Burnham made five birdies on the back nine to finish 8-under and win by a stroke.

The Bulldogs had five golfers in the top six. Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) and Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral) finished tied for third at 4-under, with Kyle Davidson (Fr., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) two further back. Alessio Graziani finished sixth at 1-over. 

"When you're biggest problem as a coach is trying to figure out who to put in your starting lineup because they're all really solid players," Thornton said, "that's a good problem to have."

Ford stumbled out of the blocks, but was one ahead of Burnham at 6-under after making birdie on Nos. 10 and 11. Burnham had birdied 10, then birdied 12, 13 and 14 to retake the lead for good.

"I was hitting it well on the front nine but none of the putts were really falling," Burnham said. "I just stayed patient, and on the back nine, I kept hitting it close. The putts started to fall, and I got some good reads from Coach Thornton and (Assistant) Coach (Jackson) Wedgeworth."

The MACCC Championship will be played March 4-5 at The Oaks Golf Club in Pass Christian. Gulf Coast won the regular-season tournament played there in February by 36 shots.

By winning their ninth event of the season at Meridian, the Bulldogs are on the verge of school record. The Bulldogs expect to be playing in the NJCAA Gulf District Tournament later this month in Natchez and the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship in Indiana in late May.

"This means we're one step closer to No. 10, and we want 12, I can tell you that right now, Thornton said." That's our goal. We're going to enjoy No. 9 for the next couple of days but then we'll turn right back around and prepare for The Oaks and the conference championship. We want to be remembered. You'll be remembered if you take care of everything in the regular season and postseason."

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