No. 1 Bulldogs dominate at GlenLakes

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast finished running away and hiding from the GlenLakes Invitational field Tuesday, extending their final lead to 12 shots.

The Bulldogs finished at 14-under after racing past No. 6 Central Alabama from NJCAA Division I in the second round. They had half the top-eight golfers in the field at GlenLakes Golf Club in Foley, Ala.

“There were times as a coach you want to say let’s just hang on to this score, and then I’d see them two or three holes later and they’d say, ‘I made a birdie or two,'” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “I’d come back, and it was another couple of birdies. That was a pleasant surprise.”

Gulf Coast set a new record in the 11-year-old tournament, going six shots lower than the previous holder.

Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) fired the low score for the second round in a row, finishing with back-to-back 68s. He tied for second with teammate Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) at 2-under for 36 holes. The finished one shot back of Eastern Florida State’s Nick Miller.

Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) and John Mark Mills (Fr., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) finished even-par tied for seventh.

“It was a team effort,” Thornton said. “It says a lot about Will and Stan to be able to make the All-Tournament Team, but what’s odd about it is both of them had a dropped scores in a round. That tells you the other three teammates really picked them up.”

Gulf Coast’s 11-under 277 in the second round was two shots better than their best in the 2018 NJCAA championship played on the same course. The Bulldogs’ third round matched the lowest from that year, when they won at 2-under over 72 holes.

“Collectively, we played well,” Thonrton said. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start Monday morning. To shoot 20-under-par the last 36 holes is as impressive as I’ve seen on that golf course.”

Gulf Coast will return to MACCC play the next two weeks to close out the regular season. The Bulldogs play in the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Northeast Mississippi, in Corinth on March 18-19.

The postseason begins April 8 at the MACCC Championship in Tunica.

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