No. 1 Bulldogs 4 back after 36
PLYMOUTH, Ind. — Playing for the second day in challenging conditions, No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast persevered and moved up two spots in the standings Wednesday.
The second-place Bulldogs, led by Stanley Campbell's 2-under 70, were four shots back of Illinois Central and eight ahead No. 2 South Mountain, their longtime national rivals. Gulf Coast is at 13-over par after two full rounds in rainy, windy and cold conditions at the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.
"It was very much the same as yesterday," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "The course set up was more difficult and conditions were still just as brutal. To post those two rounds throughout five different weather delays was really impressive."
Campbell is at 3-under, tied with Illinois Central's Trey Boecker. They are the only two golfers in red numbers and are four shots clear of the field. Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) is tied for 19th at 5-over, and John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) and Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) are in 37th at 8-over.
The Bulldogs rolled out of bed at Swan Lake Golf Club here to finish up the first round with a 7 a.m. start time. They made up five shots on what was left on the back nine, finishing at 5-over and in third place.
"That gave us a lot of confidence for the rest of the day," Thornton said. "They responded well. Then you are coming down the stretch trying to finish out before the last of the delays that we experienced. It was a really clutch finish by those guys after having to take another break and go back out and play the last hole."
The first rain delay of the day and fourth overall came with three Bulldogs having started the second round immediately after walking off 18 from the first. It lasted nearly three hours, and the last came with Behring and Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) waiting to play 18. It lasted 70 minutes.
Campbell, a sophomore, is a long way from his home in London, England, but he got a little home cooking with the rainy and wet conditions. He joked that he'd spent much of his time playing golf in rain gear, so the weather wasn't a big deal.
He pulled a rabbit out of the hat on No. 9, after finding himself in a bad spot behind a row of trees down the right side. Campbell's unorthodox, twisting swing produced a slice that ran right up onto the green, well past where he'd hoped to wind up.
"I'm lucky Coach wasn't there," he joked.
The Bulldogs will hit the course for the third round Thursday morning earlier than normal. They'll be going off at 8:30 with teams and individuals from further down the standings finishing their second rounds.
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