PHOTO BY ADAM MACKEY/GOLF COACHES ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast heads north again for its second golf tournament of the young season, and it will do so against a stacked field.
The Bulldogs and Kirkwood are co-No. 1’s in the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll, and four other teams from the top 10 will be in the field of the NJCAA Fall Preview at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind.
“It’s gonna be super competitive for our classification,” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “It’s going to be a lot of the same teams that will be competing in May for the national championship. Getting the experience, not only playing against them, but playing at that venue is going to be something we’re really looking forward to.”
No. 5 Parkland, No. 6 Des Moines Area and co-No. 9’s Hawkeye and Heartland will be playing in the 36-hole event on the Black Course starting Monday. Two other teams receiving votes in the poll, Murray State and Vincennes, will also be at Plymouth, which is about two hours southeast of Chicago.
The national championship will be played on May 20-23, and the tournament will return for the following three years, as well.
“It’s a similar layout to a lot of courses we play, but it’s the conditions,” Thornton said. “They’re a lot different. The rough has been one of the hardest things to adjust to. Luckily for us, we’re making two trips up north this year and will have plenty of time to prepare in May.”
The bluegrass roughs and bentgrass greens play differently than what teams normally see in the south. Swan Lake’s undulating greens are also defended with bunkers, which provide a challenge.
The Bulldogs are taking the same five-man team to compete: Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier), Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College), Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium), John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) and Harlan Yerger (Fr., Oxford/Oxford). Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) will be the individual on the trip.
Gulf Coast is trying to set itself up for success in the spring. The Bulldogs want to improve on their historical performances in the national championships held there.
“We haven’t had the greatest success up there,” Thornton said. “I think the highest finish up there is third. Obviously, our goals are more lofty than that. We want to really take advantage of this trip up.”
Leaderboard: https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournament-leaderboard/235389/scoring/team
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This post originally posted at https://www.mgcccbulldogs.com/landing/index by MGCCC Athletics
