BULLDOGS WIN MACCC TITLE

The field rushed through two rounds Monday to get the MACCC Championship completed before rain rolled through on what was scheduled to be Day 2 at Tunica National Golf Club.

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast rushed through it faster than everybody else, winning the school’s 15^th conference title by 33 shots.

“We play multiple tournaments throughout the year where we get to play 36 in the same day, so the guys are well conditioned through qualifying and those experiences. They were definitely ready to roll. We’re a tough team to beat when we get to play the same course multiple times in the same day.”

Bulldogs finished 1-2-3 in the individual standings, led by Jackson Wise (So., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc) at 7-under. He shot a sizzling 6-under 66, the best round of the day, in the afternoon to squeeze past Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier). Russell shot 67 in the morning.

Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) bounced back from a 73 in the first round to shoot 5-under on the second 18 and finish third.

Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) finished tied for sixth after a 67 in the afternoon, and Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) tied for 12^th.

Gulf Coast shot a blistering 15-under in the second round, 13 shots better than the morning round. That happened even after the wind picked up in the afternoon.

Wise had birdied three of his four previous holes headed to No. 7. He hammered a driver as hard as he could, leaving himself 265 yards to the pin. That called for a 3-wood, again hit as hard as he could muster. His shot hit soft and wound up 4 feet away.

“I knew when I made the eagle, I had seen Peyton had gotten to 3-under par by making birdie at 6,” Wise said. “I knew that would give me a chance if I could keep it rolling. It felt good knowing we were both playing really good golf. It’s difficult because going into tournament, we know our biggest competition is our teammates. To be able to go one-on-one with your teammates is a different feeling.”

He added two birdies and a bogey on the back to clinch the Tommy Snell Award given to the championship medalist. He’s now won back-to-back tournaments after closing out the MACCC regular season with his first collegiate victory.

Gulf Coast has won 14 straight tournaments against MACCC competition over the past two years. They are headed to the Gulf District Championship on April 22-24 at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, where they’ll be aiming for another trip to the national championship.

“We’ve known we had the depth in our roster all year,” Wise said. “Finally putting together some low tournament rounds, especially at a hard course like today with the wind picking up, too, it gives us confidence. We know we’re playing good going into the postseason and we’re going to have a chance come May that we might do something special.”

Wise, Russell and Burnham led the All-Tournament Team. Burnham won the Hubert Tucker Award for the lowest scoring average for the MACCC season (71.08 shots per round). Zielinski, Russell and Campbell made the All-MACCC First Team for their season performance. Thornton was named the MACCC Coach of the Year.

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