No. 1 Bulldogs within range after 36 in Michigan

Mississippi Gulf Coast remains in striking distance in the Folds of Honor Challenge after the first two rounds, and the Bulldogs are in that position thanks to the depth of their team.

Gulf Coast, the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II, are five shots behind Aurora University, the nation’s 16^th-ranked NCAA Division III team. The Bulldogs are 11-over through 36 holes, led Monday by Harlan Yerger (Fr., Oxford/Oxford) and Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium).

“Today was a complete showing of what college golf is all about,” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “You’ve got your guys who struggled yesterday lead your team today and pick up the slack. We just kind of pieced together a round. I thought we played well. We were a little sloppy on the green with a few too many three-putts. To have a chance tomorrow, that’s something we’ve never had in this event. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Host Grand Valley State, the No. 7 team in NCAA Division II, is in third, two shots behind the Bulldogs. Illinois Wesleyan, an NCAA Division II team, is 10 shots off the lead in fourth.

Grand Rapids, the only other community college in the field, is in 10^th place at 91-over.

Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) and Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) are in the top 10. Russell is sixth at 2-over, and Campbell is three shots further back in 10^th. Odessa’s Adam Bresnu leads the individual standings at 6-under.

Yerger shot 1-under in the second round to move up 14 spots. Behring jumped 17 spots with his even-par 71.

“For Ludvig to come off yesterday’s round when he really struggled, for him to shoot 3-under on the final nine holes really helped us out,” Thornton said. “Harlan got his confidence back. Both of those guys maybe got the first tournament jitters out of the way playing in a starting five, and they really showed they can play golf today.”

First-round leader John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) is tied for 13^th with Yerger. 

The third round tees off at 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.

“With the difficulty of this course, to post a score around even-par would be a great round tomorrow,” Thornton said. “It would give us a chance. There are some really good teams within striking distance. I think anybody one through four, all of those teams are capable of getting the job done. If we can get off to a decent start, it would be a huge help.”

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