No. 2 Bulldogs lead by 6 after first round

PHOTO CREDIT: Northwest Mississippi Community College

No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast will take a six-shot lead into the final round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, being played at Back Acres Country Club in Senatobia.

"The golf course won today," Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. "It played hard. The greens were fast, and the guys hung in there and played smart."

The Bulldogs finished the opening round at 11-over 299, with Meridian in second and Copiah-Lincoln another shot back in third.

The event concludes Tuesday with another 18 holes. The top team in the event qualifies for the NJCAA Division II Tournament in Plymouth, Ind., on May 24-27.

Gulf Coast's Colin Troxler shot 1-over and is tied for second in medalist standings. He's one behind Co-Lin's Philip Heine, with the Bulldogs' Grant Motter another shot back in a tie for fourth.

"The winds were tough today," Troxler said. "The greens are small and very firm, so you can't go after pins on some of these greens. You have to lay up, go for the center of the green and hope you make a putt."

Phillip Hickam shot 3-over for a seventh-place tie, with Jonathon Newman tied for 12^th two more shots back.

George Kawell's 7-over has him tied for 15^th.

Gulf Coast had the goal of staying away from big scores but took a couple of triple bogeys that hurt their team score.

"If we had stayed away from those, we' have put some distance between us," Snell said. "I'm sure they did the same, because the golf course was tough." 

Results

Complete scores available at Golfstat.