Campbell fires 65 as No. 1 Bulldogs stretch lead
Mississippi Gulf Coast freshman Stanley Campbell is laying waste to Dancing Rabbit Golf Club through two rounds of the NJCAA Gulf District Championship, adding a bogey-free 65 Tuesday to soar to a seven-shot lead.
He's pacing the No. 1 Bulldogs to a 43-shot lead with one round left to play in Philadelphia, Miss. All four of his teammates are in the top eight in the field, and they added a 10-under total to their score in Round 2.
"He's playing phenomenal golf," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "Yesterday, he got off to a hot start, and we talked about staying calm and dealing with the nerves. Today, it was just steady throughout the entire round. He was pretty calm about, but also excited. That's one of his best rounds of golf he's ever played."
Campbell, who is from London, England, made seven birdies for a 65 Tuesday. He was 2-under when he got to the 11th hole, which starts a challenging stretch of holes. He birdied that hole, then had four straight starting at 13.
On Monday, he had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys to shoot 5-under.
Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) shot 3-under to move a stroke past teammate Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) into second place. Zielinski's even-par 72 was matched by Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) and Jackson Wise (So., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc), who are tied for fifth.
"We've had a couple guys who have not hit the ball their best this week, but they've been able to grind out even-par rounds," Thornton said. "That's one of the most underrated things to look at in our performance the past two days. We're grinding out really good rounds even without our best stuff."
The Bulldogs are 21-under. East Central is second at 22-over, with Meridian charging up two spots at 25-over. East Mississippi is another shot back in fourth, with Jones lurking in fifth.
The top three teams advance to the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship, which will be played May 21-24 in Joplin, Mo. Two individual golfers will also receive invitations.
The 54-hole event concludes Wednesday.
Team scores |
|
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | 277-278—555 (-21) |
| 2. East Central | 295-303—598 (+22) |
| 3. Meridian | 301-300—601 (+25) |
| 4. East Mississippi | 298-304—602 (+26) |
| 5. Jones | 299-309—608 (+32) |
| 6. Northeast Mississippi | 313-316—629 (+53) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Stanley Campbell | 67-65—132 (-12) |
| 2. Will Burnham | 70-69—139 (-5) |
| 3. Andrew Zielinski | 68-72—140 (-4) |
| T5. Peyton Russell | 72-72—144 (E) |
| T5. Jackson Wise | 72-72—144 (E) |
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
