No. 1 Bulldogs are 17 back after 18

JOPLIN, Mo. — No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast stumbled down the stretch in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship here Tuesday, but the Bulldogs have 54 holes to make a comeback.

Gulf Coast shot 15-over on the back nine to wind up tied for 11^th place in the 20-team field after the first round on the windy Twin Hills Golf Club course.

"It was a long day in general," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "I'm really looking forward to an early start tomorrow and see if we can get the birdie train rolling. We're not out of it because there's 54 holes of golf left. We just have to get some rest tonight, regroup and be ready to go in the morning."

The Bulldogs are 17 shots behind MACCC-rival Meridian, which shot 7-over and leads South Mountain by two shots.

David Beard (Fr., Madison/Madison Central) is the low Gulf Coast player. He shot 3-over and is tied for 19^th. Kirkwood's JD Pollard leads the field at 4-under, one of just four players in red numbers.

Gulf Coast was tied for fourth at the turn. They were 9-over on the front nine but six shots worse on the back.

"We just didn't play well all around," Thornton said. "It was hard to get in a rhythm early, and we just never really recovered. It was tough conditions out there. We had a couple guys who didn't have their best stuff, and I think this team is more than capable of changing the direction of this momentum. I'm looking forward to seeing them gut it out."

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