No. 1 Bulldogs trail by 3 in Corinth
No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast will start the final round of the MACCC Championship in second place for the second time this year against conference opposition.
The Bulldogs trail No. 6 Meridian by three shots after 18 holes at Shiloh Ridge Golf Club in Corinth.
"We got off to a really good start and just didn't finish our round very well," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "The wind really picked up (on the back nine), and there are some tough holes back there. We had a couple guys who didn't play well. We're still right there and have a pretty good chance going into tomorrow. We'll regroup and see if we can post a better number tomorrow."
John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) is tied with Meridian's Bruce McClung for the tournament lead after shooting 2-under 70. Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) is tied for third at even par.
Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) finished at 5-over, tied for 14th.
"John Mark got it around really well," Thornton said. "He stayed really disciplined, and even the couple of mistakes weren't bad decisions. To be tied for the lead and have a chance to get his fourth win of the season, I think he'll be ready to go tomorrow."
The Bulldogs were second to the Eagles by three shots at the Chris Clark Invitational in Philadelphia last month. They forced a playoff and won, and they'll have to do something similar to win their third straight MACCC title.
"I don't think anybody's playing just particularly bad right now," Thornton said. "We just had a few big numbers, and that's just not like us. Maybe there was some frustration kicking in and a few bad swings, but the course played tough. To have an opportunity to win the conference championship is a great thing to look forward to."
The field tees off in the final round at 10 a.m. Tuesday, with Gulf Coast hitting the course at 10:45. The top five teams will advance to the Gulf District Championship next week in Tunica.
Live scoring: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/237807/scoring/team
Team scores |
|
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Meridian | 295 (+7) |
| 2. Gulf Coast | 298 (+10) |
| 3. Jones | 302 (+14) |
| 4. Northeast Mississippi | 314 (+26) |
| 5. East Central | 315 (+27) |
| 6. Itawamba | 316 (+28) |
| 7. Pearl River | 326 (+38) |
| 8. Hinds | 327 (+39) |
| 9. Southwest Mississippi | 332 (+44) |
| 10. East Mississippi | 334 (+46) |
| 11. Copiah-Lincoln | 337 (+49) |
| 12. Northwest Mississippi | 341 (+53) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| T1. John Mark Mills | 70 (-2) |
| T3. Ludvig Behring | 72 (E) |
| T13. Garner Seymour | 77 (+5) |
| T21. Peyton Russell | 79 (+7) |
| T21. Stanley Campbell | 79 (+7) |
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.