JOPLIN, Mo. — Mother Nature has wreaked havoc on the NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship, causing No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast to have to wait until almost 4 p.m. to get on the course Wednesday.
Before the sun went down and play was suspended, the Bulldogs’ place on the leaderboard matched their ranking. They charged up four spots to take the lead when the horn sounded. Gulf Coast is up three shots on No. 4 Kirkwood and No. 6 Des Moines Area.
It was a night and day situation for the Bulldogs, who struggled in Tuesday’s first round and shot 17-over. They were 5-over with their team between the 12th and 15th holes.
“The guys mentally handled adversity better,” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “They handled the course conditions and the delay better, and that’s just a testament to their mental prep. I thought we responded to our mistakes better today.”
Gulf Coast and the other five teams who were on the course when darkness came will be back out at 7:30 a.m. Thursday to finish the second round. Round 3 is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) led the charge, and he was 3-under through 12 holes. Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) was 2-under, and Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) and Jackson Wise (So., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc) were all even.
“Going out there today after shooting poorly yesterday, I was just trying to trust having put in all the work,” Russell said. “I wanted to go out there and stay calm. I made a couple birdies early, and I was happy to get some good momentum. It ended up being a solid day.”
After shooting 8-over in the opening round, he birdied holes No. 5, 6, 9 and 10 before giving a shot back on 11.
“Peyton has the ability to shoot some of the lowest scores in the tournament,” Thornton said. “Poor decision-making and nerves may have played a role yesterday, but today was a more conventional round of golf you’ll see from Peyton. He hit some really good shots and never compounded any mistakes. He’s put himself in a great position to help the team out.”
Live scoreboard: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=29173
Team scores |
||
| Team | Scores | Thru |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | +12 | 12-15 |
| T2. Kirkwood | +15 | 12-15 |
| T2. Des Moines Area | +15 | F |
| 4. Chandler-Gilbert | +17 | F |
| 5. Roane State | +19 | 13-17 |
| 6. Parkland | +21 | 13-17 |
| 7. South Mountain | +23 | 12-15 |
| 8. Hesston | +31 | F |
| 9. Southeast | +34 | F |
| 10. Murray State | +37 | 13-17 |
MGCCC scores |
||
| Player | Score | Thru |
|---|---|---|
| T3. Stanley Campbell | +1 | 14 |
| T3. Will Burnham | +1 | 12 |
| T20. Peyton Russell | +5 | 12 |
| T20. Andrew Zielinski | +5 | 12 |
| T41. Jackson Wise | +9 | 15 |
For more information on MGCCC’s 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
This post originally posted at https://www.mgcccbulldogs.com/landing/index by MGCCC Athletics
