No. 4 Bulldogs dominate at Joplin

No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast was the only team to shoot sub-300 scores at the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf National Preview this week, and even on a blustery day, the Bulldogs did it again. They finished the 54-hole event at 24-over, beating defending national champion Kirkwood by 34 shots.

Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton got his wish and got very windy conditions Tuesday, but his team responded by shooting 9-over.

"The wind picked up from the get-go, so it was nice to get that experience before we come back up here in May," he said. "It's going to be an abnormality for the wind not to blow up here, and it was kicking pretty good by the time we started this morning. To watch our guys play well, even leaving a few shots out there, it will keep us hungry to improve and get back there in May, hopefully."

Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) and Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) picked up where they left off after Monday's first 36 holes, shooting twin 73s to remain tied at 1-over for the tournament lead. Russell rolled in a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win medalist.

"It was big. There was a lot of good competition out there," Russell said. "I learned it's one hole at a time, and there's a lot of good shots out there. You just have to keep grinding."

Kyle Davidson (So., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College), playing as an individual, shot 5-over to finish in fifth. Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) was sixth after finishing 9-over.

John Mark Mills (Fr., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) shot 76 to move up four spots on the leaderboard. That gave the Bulldogs five golfers in the top eight. Kirkwood, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, had golfers finish third and seventh. No. 7 Des Moines Area finished third at 69-over, with No. 10 Murray State in fourth another five shots back.

Gulf Coast, which skipped the first MACCC event this week to play in the national preview, will start its conference play Oct. 2. The Bulldogs will play in the Warrior Invitational at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia.

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