No. 1 Bulldogs finish 3rd at NJCAA Preview

No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast made up ground in Tuesday's final round of the NJCAA Tournament Preview in Plymouth, Ind., but it wasn't enough.

The Bulldogs finished third, five back of No. 5 Parkland, and Murray State edged them by a shot. Gulf Coast had a shot to win but couldn't close it out at Swan Lake Golf Resort's Black Course.

"The past two weeks, it's been an issue, and we have to fix it," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "I've got to do a better job having us prepared because we haven't finished the last two events. Coming down the stretch, we had a really good chance and didn't get it done. We've got a quick turnaround and leave Sunday for the first conference event. Hopefully we get it sorted out before then."

Ludvig Behring (So., Sollentuna, Sweden/Osterakers Gymnasium) continued his run of solid play, shooting 1-under 71 in windy conditions to finish fourth. Stanley Campbell (So., London, England/Essex Golf College) finished at even-par for the tournament to tie for sixth.

"Ludvig played his last 10 holes 4-under par today to finish 1-under. That's a really good top-five finish in a quality field," Thornton said. "Stanley had a really good finish, too."

Peyton Russell (So., Gautier/Gautier) moved up 13 spots to finish 13th at 6-over, tied for 28^th with Harlan Yerger (Fr., Oxford/Oxford) at 6-over. John Mark Mills (So., Pontotoc/Mike Bender Golf Academy) was 43^rd.

Garner Seymour (So., Biloxi/Biloxi), playing as an individual, finished tied for 15^th at 3-over.

Illinois Central finished fourth, four shots behind Gulf Coast. Kirkwood, the co-No. 1 with the Bulldogs in the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll, was sixth. Co-No. 9's Heartland and Hawkeye finished sixth and seventh, respectively. No. 6 Des Moines Area was tied for ninth.

It's the first time Gulf Coast has lost in a community college field since the last time the team played at Swan Lake. That was the 2022 national championship, and the NJCAA is headed back there in May. The Bulldogs made the trip for the preview event to get some practice and competition rounds under their belts before then.

"The short game is really the biggest difference," Thornton said. "Getting comfortable off the tee is obviously a big one as well. I was happy the conditions deteriorated today to make things more difficult. We've got to be able to handle that better so nothing will be a shock up here in May."

Gulf Coast returns to MACCC play on Oct. 7 at the Jim Redgate Invitational. It'll be the Bulldogs' first conference event of the season. Meridian will host at Briarwood Country Club.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.