No. 1 Bulldogs romp to 25-shot lead

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast took care of business in its first round of golf this season on top of the rankings. The Bulldogs shot the only sub-300 round on a windy day to lead by 25 shots at the Bobcat Invitational in Laurel.

The tough Laurel Country Club lived up to its reputation, with the Bulldogs' 11-over leading the MACCC field by 25 shots. East Central and host Jones are tied for second.

"That golf course could not have played any tougher today, so to shoot a sub-300 score and have four guys in the top five, I felt like we dealt with adversity really well," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "We were able to put up a really respectable score with what the golf course was giving out today."

Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) leads those four Bulldogs in the top five with a 1-over 73. He's a shot ahead of teammate Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), and three ahead of Kyle Davidson (So., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) and Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier).

Copiah-Lincoln's Oscar Toreld is the lone interloper at 3-over 75.

Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) is tied for ninth at 7-over.

"Will kept the ball in front of him all day," Thornton said. "He was able to get the ball in play off the tee. Those are some tough green complexes, so to be able to hit some greens, and even when he was out of position, to be able to get back in position, he did a great job."

The teams will start the final round Tuesday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. The Bulldogs, who haven't lost to an MACCC opponent since April 2022, will try to build on their lead at LCC.

"These guys, it's nothing new for them," Thornton said. "They understand we're going to go in there and try to perform to our best no matter the circumstances. Whether it's the golf course or other teams that may have an impact, they've done a great job handling themselves through all types of adversity this year."

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