Bulldogs pick up national honors
PLYMOUTH, Ind. — Mississippi Gulf Coast's top two golfers picked up two big honors at the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship banquet Monday night.
Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral), who has won five tournaments for the No. 2 Bulldogs, was named to the PING All-American First Team, and Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep), who has three victories, nabbed the Phil Mickelson Award presented by StrackaLine as the nation's top freshman.
The Golf Coaches Association of America announced the awards at the national championship banquet at the Swan Lake Resort.
Burnham was named to the PING All-American Second Team, and he and Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) are part of the five-man All-Freshman Team.
Kaiser was a member of the All-East Region Team as a freshman. He has tied the school record for wins in a season and set a new mark for birdies in a season. He has nine top-five finishes.
Burnham's win total ties him for the fourth-best season in school history. He's top 10 in scoring average, par-3 scoring and finish percentage. He has eight top-five finishes.
Zielinski ranks 15th in school history in par-4 scoring. He's had five top-four finishes, including a second place at the Northeast Mississippi Fall Invitational.
Alessio Graziani (So., Johannesburg, South Africa/Beaulieu College) joined Kaiser, Burnham and Zielinski on the All-East Region Team.
Gulf Coast will tee off 8:20 am Tuesday here on Swan Lake Resort's Black Course. The Bulldogs will play with No. 1 South Mountain and No. 4 Glendale.
Live scoring will be available at https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28108
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
