MSU Concludes First Tournament of Spring at SunTrust Gator Invitational

Sunday, February 18

Gainesville, Fla. (Mark Bostick GC)

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Mississippi State

SunTrust Gator Invitational

MSU Concludes First Tournament of Spring at SunTrust Gator Invitational

February 18, 2018 | Men's Golf

Final Leaderboard

MSU Concludes First Tournament of Spring at SunTrust Gator Invitational

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Garrett Johnson and Austin Rose shot their best rounds of the weekend Sunday, each firing 1-over 71 in the final round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

The Mississippi State men's golf team closed their first tournament of the spring with a 9-over 289 to finish 15th.

"I felt like we did a better job of hanging in there today," MSU head men's golf coach Dusty Smith said. "The guys fought hard but we were not able to have all five in it."

Senior Taylor Grant led all Bulldogs this weekend, carding a 72 on Sunday to a 5-over 215 overall.

Playing as an individual, Cameron Clarke finished tied for 66th after shooting 12-over through the weekend.

Vanderbilt compiled an 18-under 822 to take the team trophy, while Missouri's Hayden Buckley medaled behind a 64 on Sunday and a 202 tournament total.

The Bulldogs will be back in action February 26-27 as they compete in the Louisiana Classics Golf Tournament at Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, La.

"We have a quick turnaround into our next event," Smith said. "We are looking forward to a good week of preparation and getting back to what we do."

For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateMG.

Mississippi State head men's golf coach Dusty Smith:

"I felt like we did a better job of hanging in there today. The guys fought hard but we were not able to have all five in it. I think the game got really fast for us this week. We let external things enter our minds and we were never able to slow it down. The great thing about the Gator Invitational is they set it up tough. You have to know how to play the game properly and you have to think your way around it. We have a lot of work to do in that regard and we will be focusing on that going forward. This will be a great experience and something we will learn from. We have a quick turnaround into our next event. We are looking forward to a good week of preparation and getting back to what we do."

SunTrust Gator Invitational
1. Vanderbilt (274+278+270=822, -18)
2. Florida (275+278+278=831, -9)
3. South Florida (278+281+276=835, -5)
4. North Florida (278+282+277=837, -3)
5. UCF (274+284+280=838, -2)
6. Liberty (282+285+275=842, +2)
7. Missouri (279+281+286=846, +6)
T8. Georgia Southern (282+279+286=847, +7)
T8. Arkansas (286+283+278=847, +7)
10. Jacksonville (275+284+291=850, +10)
11. UAB (285+285+289=859, +19)
12. Coastal Carolina (286+288+287=861, +21)
13. Lipscomb (290+289+289=868, +28)
14. College of Charleston (285+288+298=871, +31)
15. Mississippi State (288+295+289=872, +32)
16. Troy (296+309+297=902, +62)

MSU Players
T37. Taylor Grant (71+72+72=215, +5)
T55. Garrett Johnson (72+75+71=218, +8)
T68. Peng Pichaikool (70+72+81=223, +13)
T75. Austin Rose (75+79+71=225, +15)
T84. Griffin Agent (77+76+75=228, +18)
T27. Cameron Clarke (71+70+81=222, +12)*

*Playing as individual