MSU Tied For 12th After SEC Day One

Wednesday, April 25

Sea Island, Ga. (Sea Island CC)

All Day

Mississippi State

SEC Championship

MSU Tied For 12th After SEC Day One

April 25, 2018 | Men's Golf

Stats

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Mississippi State finished its day tied for 12th on a tight SEC Men's Golf Championship leaderboard following round one play.

Senior Taylor Bibbs was MSU's best player, and shot a 1-over-71. He shot 2-under on the back nine after sinking an eagle on 15 and is tied for 18th going into the second round Thursday.

"I'm really proud of our fight today," MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith said. "There was a point in the round where it could have gotten away from us but we were able to battle and create some momentum down the stretch."

State has two rounds to move into the Top 8 of the leaderboard at the Par-70, 6898-yard Seaside Course of Sea Island Golf Club before the match play quarterfinals.

Sophomore Garrett Johnson was the next-best competitor for the Bulldogs, firing a 2-over-72.

Sophomore Peng Pichaikool and Senior Taylor Grant both shot 5-over-75s Wednesday. Pichaikool began his day firing a 1-under on the back nine, but couldn't keep the momentum on the front side to finish.

Freshman Cameron Clarke shot an 8-over-78 to fill out the MSU scorecard.

Vanderbilt sits atop the field at 4-under, while LSU's Luis Gagne led all players in round one with the same score.

Second round play begins at 6:30 a.m. CT Thursday, and MSU will tee off their day from the 10th hole beginning at 8 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.

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

MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith:

"I'm really proud of our fight today. There was a point in the round where it could have gotten away from us but we were able to battle and create some momentum down the stretch. We need to do a better job with the simple things tomorrow. This is a championship course with a championship setup. Your best is required if you want to compete at a high level."

SEC Championship
1. Vanderbilt (276, -4)
T2. Tennessee (280, E)
T2. Auburn (280, E)
4. LSU (281, +1)
5. Alabama (283, +3)
6. Kentucky (286, +6)
7. Missouri (287, +7)
T8. South Carolina (288, +8)
T8. Ole Miss (288, +8)
10. Arkansas (289, +9)
11. Georgia (291, +11)
T12. Mississippi State (293, +13)
T12. Florida (293, +13)
14. Texas A&M (296, +16)

MSU Players
T18. Taylor Bibbs (71, +1)
T28. Garrett Johnson (72, +2)
T53. Peng Pichaikool (75, +5)
T53. Taylor Grant (75, +5)
67. Cameron Clarke (78, +8)