No. 1 Bulldogs up by 18 after 1st round

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast put their dominance on full display in the first round of the NJCAA Gulf District Championship on Monday, dropping an even-par score on the way to an 18-shot lead.

The Bulldogs shot 11-under on The Oaks course at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia.

“We played really well, exactly what we were trying to accomplish,” Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. “We wanted to get off to a good start through the front nine, and we did. We finished solid and were able to post a good team score. It’s everything you want out of a first round.”

Stanley Campbell (Fr., London, England/Essex Golf College) leads the individual standings after a 5-under 67.  He’s a shot ahead of teammate Andrew Zielinski (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), and Will Burnham (So., Jackson/Jackson Prep) is two more strokes back tied for third.

Host East Central, the seventh-ranked team in the country, is in second at 7-over. East Mississippi, No. 8 Jones and Meridian are within six shots of the Warriors.

The top three teams advance to the NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship, which will be played May 21-24 in Joplin, Mo. Two individual golfers will also receive invitations. 

Campbell was 1-under when he got to No. 8, which starts a stretch of three holes golfers can attack. He did so, going eagle-birdie-birdie.

“He had a little nerves (after that) but handled them well,” Thornton said. “He put himself in a good spot and really helped his team out.”

Gulf Coast shot 13-under on those three holes. Jackson Wise (So., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc) and Peyton Russell (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) tied for eighth at 72. Thornton commended both for grinding out those scores on a day when neither was striking the ball that well. 

The 54-hole event resumes Tuesday, with the finale set for Wednesday.

For more information on MGCCC’s 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.