Pichaikool, Grant Help Bulldogs to Strong Finish

Tuesday, October 10

Birmingham, Ala. (Old Overton GC)

All Day

Mississippi State

Jerry Pate Intercollegiate

Senior Taylor Grant shot a 1-under 69 on Tuesday to help MSU move up three spots in the final round.

Pichaikool, Grant Help Bulldogs to Strong Finish

October 10, 2017 | Men's Golf

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Peng Pichaikool and Taylor Grant each shot 1-under-par 69s on Tuesday to help Mississippi State advance in the standings during the final round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.

The Bulldogs fired their lowest round of the event at Old Overton Club, a 1-under 279, to vault three places up the leaderboard into seventh place.

"Today was a big day for us," head coach Dusty Smith." The guys were challenged last night and they answered with a very solid round.

"We talked about being tougher and playing with more grit today. I thought the guys responded to the call."

Pichaikool led the team throughout the tournament, finishing eighth with a 4-under-par 206. The sophomore finished in the Top 10 for the second time in as many events after opening the fall with a second-place showing at the Bearcat Invitational two weeks ago.

"Peng was rock solid all week and did what great players always do," Smith said.

Grant and Garrett Johnson each shot a 7-over 217 to finish tied for 35th, but the duo dramatically improved on the final day, carding season-lows with a 69 and 70, respectively.

Cameron Clarke's second-career tournament saw him finish 8-over and in a tie for 40th.

Ross Bell also had his best day on Tuesday with a 1-over 71 to finish his first tournament of the season tied for 45th at 9-over-par.

Tournament host Alabama shot 19-under over the three to take first place. The field was led by co-medalists Shintaro Ban of UNLV and Mason Overstreet of Arkansas.

The Bulldogs return to action in just five days as they tee off the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic in Duluth, Ga., on Monday. The two-day event hosted by Georgia State was added to the schedule after the season-opening Invitational at the Ocean Course was canceled due to Hurricane Irma.

"This tournament was our next step," Smith said. "We have a quick turnaround, but we will get back to work and continue to stick to our process as we prepare to head to Georgia this week. If we want to be successful, we need to focus on doing the little things better."

Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
1. Alabama (271+273+277=821, -19)
2. Auburn (282+278+267=827, -13)
3. Baylor (269+277+282=828, -12)
4. BYU (280, 271, 290=841, +1)
5. Arkansas (286+269+287=842, +2)
6. UNLV (277+285+285=847, +7)
7. Mississippi State (286+288+279=853, +13)
8. South Alabama (291+274+289=854, +14)
9. UAB (287+283+288=858, +18)
10. Charlotte (287+290+284=861, +21)
11. Michigan (288+285+290=863, +23)
12. Samford (295+291+298=884, +44)

MSU Players
8. Peng Pichaikool (67+70+69=206, -4)
T35. Taylor Grant (76+72+69=217, +7)
T35. Garrett Johnson (72+75+70=217, +7)
T40. Cameron Clarke (73+72+73=218, +8)
T45. Ross Bell (74+74+71=219, +9)