Bulldogs take course as No. 1

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast will tee off for the first time this season as the No. 1 team in the country Monday, and the bulldogs will do so at a hard course.

The Bulldogs, elevated to the top spot last Friday, will be playing in the Bobcat Invitational at Laurel Country Club. It's their second MACCC event of the year.

"It's a really tough course, so it was good to get up there and learn a little bit more about it Friday," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "I think it's one of the tougher golf courses in the state, so it will be a good test. We'll try to take what we learned and put it to good use with good numbers Monday and Tuesday." 

Gulf Coast will be looking for its third straight tournament title, having won the NJCAA Preview and Warrior Invitational last two times out.

This will be the last MACCC event of the calendar year. The Bulldog host the MGCCC Fall Invitational the last two days of the month, but that will be a 54-hole event that includes 17 teams from six states. They will host an MACCC event in February.

The Bulldogs' first tee time Monday will be at 10:50 a.m. Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep), Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College), Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Kyle Davidson (So., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) and Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) will make up the five-person squad. Ludvig Behring (Fr., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) will play as an individual.

Jones is hosting the two-day event, which will include all 11 golf-playing MACCC schools. Laurel Country Club is the oldest in the state, with play starting there in 1919.

"It's very tight off the tee. It also has a lot of greens that are very small and elevated. It's a very old school kind of golf course that maybe we're not as familiar with."

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.