Owensby’s 64 fires No. 3 Bulldogs to lead after 18
Jayden Owensby fired a 7-under Monday in the first round of the Lou Hart Invitational in Meridian, leading No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast to a one-shot lead.
The Bulldogs shot 6-over and lead the hosts, No. 8 Meridian, headed into the final round of the regular season. The final MACCC event of the year wraps up Tuesday after a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Jones and Hinds are tied for third at 12-over.
"That was very impressive," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "He took the stress out of the round by leaving himself a lot of uphill birdie putts. He was able to be aggressive all day. The few times he might've got out of position, he was able to save par, so that was a really impressive round. He put himself in great position for tomorrow."
Owensby, a freshman from Hernando, shot a bogey-free 64. He made the turn at 3-under, then got four more birdies on the back. He leads Meridian's Daniel Young by five shots. Three golfers are 1-under, including Craig Bullock (Fr., Ripley /Ripley), who is playing as an individual.
Matthew Bond (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) is tied for seventh at 1-over, and three Bulldogs playing as individuals are three more shots back tied for 22nd: Chandon Johnson (Fr., Biloxi /Biloxi), Cal Wier (Fr., Hernando/Lewisburg) and Noah Peters (Fr., London, England/Croxley Dane's School).
"We had a little funk there before spring break, and we were not playing our best golf," Thornton said. "Now, we're starting to come out of it. We have a lot of depth, and we're waiting on these guys to step up as the freshmen get more reps. If we could play a golf tournament every day, that would probably benefit us the most, but we're trying to make the most of this opportunity. We've got a chance to compete and win tomorrow, which is really tough to do up here at Meridian at their home course, so I think it'll be a battle tomorrow."
Team scores |
|
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Gulf Coast | 290 (+6) |
| 2. Meridian | 291 (+7) |
| T3. Jones | 296 (+12) |
| T3. Hinds | 296 (+12) |
| T5. Northeast Mississippi | 304 (+20) |
| T5. Itawamba | 304 (+20) |
| T7. East Central | 305 (+21) |
| T7. Pearl River | 305 (+21) |
| 9. Northwest Mississippi | 308 (+24) |
| T10. East Mississippi | 310 (+26) |
| T10. Copiah-Lincoln | 310 (+26) |
| 12. Southwest Mississippi | 340 (+56) |
MGCCC scores |
|
| Player | Score |
|---|---|
| 1. Jayden Owensby | 64 (-7) |
| T3. Craig Bullock (IND) | 70 (-1) |
| T7. Matthew Bond | 72 (+1) |
| T22. Chandon Johnson (IND) | 75 (+4) |
| T22. Cal Wier (IND) | 75 (+4) |
| T22. Noah Peters (IND) | 75 (+4) |
| T30. Paul Hoefer | 76 (+5) |
| T40. Braeden Dobbs | 78 (+7) |
| T46. Logan Jensen | 79 (+8) |
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
