No. 1 Bulldogs take down strong field

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast made the trip down to Florida to kick off the spring golf season with a challenge. Not surprisingly, they're headed back to Perkinston with another title.

The Bulldogs won the Titan Winter Invitational in Melbourne, Fla., topping a 14-team field, half of which are in the top 25 of the NJCAA Division I National College Golf Rankings. They won by 11 shots against host Eastern Florida State at Suntree Country Club on Tuesday.

"Those were phenomenal results to start the spring," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "We've got a lot of confidence. That's a real quality field our guys were able to handle on the first time down to this course. Everybody handled everything really well. We've got a few things we can clean up in the spring, but I couldn't be more excited to start the spring out with a win."

The team has won four straight tournaments, and John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) made it two straight individual titles. He was the only golfer to break par all three rounds, finishing at 6-under to beat Webber International's Vedant Sirohi by two shots.

"I really hit my driver well to set myself up to be able to make birdies," Mills said. "That was the big focus on this course. It's fairly tight and challenging off the tee, so I just had to get my tee ball where I wanted it. I kept it in the fairway, and that set me up to make some birdies."

Mills made 13 birdies over 54 holes. He was the only Bulldog who had finished his second round Monday, leaving him 18 holes to play on Tuesday. The other four golfers had to finish up their second rounds, and they were again delayed by fog.

Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) shot 1-under to move up three spots and tied for fourth, good enough for a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) and Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) shot even-par to finish tied for eighth and 19^th, respectively.

"We were pumped up for this," Mills said. "We knew it was going to be challenging with the competition down here. There were some really good schools and really good players."

The Bulldogs will be hosting the Gulf Coast Invitational next week at Grand Bear Golf Club. The 36-hole MACCC event will be played Monday and Tuesday.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.