Friday, April 27
Sea Island, Ga. (Sea Island CC)
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
SEC Championship
Grant Finishes Strong At SEC Championship
April 27, 2018 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Taylor Grant has been a leader for Mississippi State men's golf this spring, and that didn't change Friday in the third round of the SEC Men's Golf Championship.
The senior from Abilene, Texas, fired a 2-under 68 in State's final round on the Par-70, 6,898-yard Sea Island Golf Club Seaside Course to finish tied for 21st. He collected an eagle on the par-5 15th hole to go with three birdies on Friday.
"Today was a fun day for me," Grant said. "It was my last round at Sea Island in the SEC Championship, and I tried to enjoy it and just have fun. I was able to hit a lot of good shots and the putts fell today."
"I am really proud of [Taylor] for how he responded after his opening round," MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith said. "It shows a lot about who he is and what kind of character he has."
Friday's 68 followed a 1-under 69 in Thursday's second round and 5-over opening round. He finished the three-round stroke play portion of the championship with a 2-over 212.
Grant finished the regular season strong, notching three consecutive Top 10 finishes in the month of March. He was also instrumental in MSU head coach Dusty Smith's squad closing the regular season with four-straight Top 5 finishes.
Sophomore Peng Pichaikool was State's next-best finisher on Friday, knocking in three birdies on the front nine to finish at 1-over for the second-straight day.
"Peng played a big back nine for us when we needed it today," Smith said. "I thought the way he hung in there after being 4-over early was huge for our team."
Pichaikool played his first nine holes at 4-over par, but he rallied to play the front nine at 3-under and wrap the three days tied with teammate Taylor Bibbs for 36th. Bibbs shot a 76 on Friday after posting two solid rounds to begin the week.
Freshman Cameron Clarke had his best day on Friday, rallying for a 2-over 72 after a rough couple of days in his first taste of championship play.
Sophomore Garrett Johnson found trouble on the front nine Friday and ended the round with a 78. He and Clarke each shot 14-over 224s for their three-day totals.
Despite some fine individual performances, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the gap in front of them to qualify for the SEC Championship match play this weekend, but moved up a spot to 12th after shooting a 7-over 287 in round three.
State was 13-over in the opening round and then had its tournament-best with a 4-over 284 on Thursday for a three-day total of 864.
LSU finished atop the SEC Championship leaderboard and will be one of eight teams to advance to this weekend's match play. Florida's Andy Zhang won the individual title after winning a two-man playoff against Ole Miss' Cecil Wegener.
Smith and the Bulldogs will see if they earn a spot in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships when the selections are announced Wednesday, May 2, at 4:30 p.m. CT on Golf Channel.
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 thought our guys did a great job of competing this week. We showed a lot of resiliency out there today. We didn't get off to a great start today, but our guys were able to steady the ship and get a score in. I am really proud of Taylor Grant for how he responded after his opening round. It shows a lot about who he is and what kind of character he has. Peng played a big back nine for us when we needed it today. I thought the way he hung in there after being 4-over early was huge for our team. This was our next step. We have a lot to improve on going forward and need to focus on doing the simple things better. The teams with the most discipline this time of the year are the most successful. We are not where we need to be yet but we are growing and improving as a team."
Senior Taylor Grant:
"Today was a fun day for me. It was my last round at Sea Island in the SEC Championship, and I tried to enjoy it and just have fun. I was able to hit a lot of good shots and the putts fell today. We fought hard this week and I wouldn't wanna play with any body but these guys. Hail State!"
SEC Championship
1. LSU (281+276+277=834, -6)
T2. Florida (293+278+272=843, +3)
T2. Vanderbilt (276+283+284=843, +3)
T4. Auburn (280+286+282=848, +8)
T4. Arkansas (289+285+274=848, +8)
T4. Alabama (283+280+285=848, +8)
T7. Ole Miss (288+277+286=851, +11)
T7. Texas A&M (296+277+278=851, +11)
9. Tennessee (280+290+284=854, +14)
10. Kentucky (286+283+287=856, +16)
11. Georgia (291+282+289=862, +22)
12. Mississippi State (293+284+287=864, +24)
13. South Carolina (288+287+290=865, +25)
14. Missouri (287+296+290=873, +33)
MSU Players
T21. Taylor Grant (75+69+68=222, +2)
T36. Taylor Bibbs (71+70+76=217, +7)
T36. Peng Pichaikool (75+71+71=217, +7)
T63. Garrett Johnson (72+74+78=224, +14)
T63. Cameron Clarke (78+74+72=224, +12)
The senior from Abilene, Texas, fired a 2-under 68 in State's final round on the Par-70, 6,898-yard Sea Island Golf Club Seaside Course to finish tied for 21st. He collected an eagle on the par-5 15th hole to go with three birdies on Friday.
"Today was a fun day for me," Grant said. "It was my last round at Sea Island in the SEC Championship, and I tried to enjoy it and just have fun. I was able to hit a lot of good shots and the putts fell today."
"I am really proud of [Taylor] for how he responded after his opening round," MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith said. "It shows a lot about who he is and what kind of character he has."
Friday's 68 followed a 1-under 69 in Thursday's second round and 5-over opening round. He finished the three-round stroke play portion of the championship with a 2-over 212.
Grant finished the regular season strong, notching three consecutive Top 10 finishes in the month of March. He was also instrumental in MSU head coach Dusty Smith's squad closing the regular season with four-straight Top 5 finishes.
Sophomore Peng Pichaikool was State's next-best finisher on Friday, knocking in three birdies on the front nine to finish at 1-over for the second-straight day.
"Peng played a big back nine for us when we needed it today," Smith said. "I thought the way he hung in there after being 4-over early was huge for our team."
Pichaikool played his first nine holes at 4-over par, but he rallied to play the front nine at 3-under and wrap the three days tied with teammate Taylor Bibbs for 36th. Bibbs shot a 76 on Friday after posting two solid rounds to begin the week.
Freshman Cameron Clarke had his best day on Friday, rallying for a 2-over 72 after a rough couple of days in his first taste of championship play.
Sophomore Garrett Johnson found trouble on the front nine Friday and ended the round with a 78. He and Clarke each shot 14-over 224s for their three-day totals.
Despite some fine individual performances, the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the gap in front of them to qualify for the SEC Championship match play this weekend, but moved up a spot to 12th after shooting a 7-over 287 in round three.
State was 13-over in the opening round and then had its tournament-best with a 4-over 284 on Thursday for a three-day total of 864.
LSU finished atop the SEC Championship leaderboard and will be one of eight teams to advance to this weekend's match play. Florida's Andy Zhang won the individual title after winning a two-man playoff against Ole Miss' Cecil Wegener.
Smith and the Bulldogs will see if they earn a spot in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships when the selections are announced Wednesday, May 2, at 4:30 p.m. CT on Golf Channel.
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 thought our guys did a great job of competing this week. We showed a lot of resiliency out there today. We didn't get off to a great start today, but our guys were able to steady the ship and get a score in. I am really proud of Taylor Grant for how he responded after his opening round. It shows a lot about who he is and what kind of character he has. Peng played a big back nine for us when we needed it today. I thought the way he hung in there after being 4-over early was huge for our team. This was our next step. We have a lot to improve on going forward and need to focus on doing the simple things better. The teams with the most discipline this time of the year are the most successful. We are not where we need to be yet but we are growing and improving as a team."
Senior Taylor Grant:
"Today was a fun day for me. It was my last round at Sea Island in the SEC Championship, and I tried to enjoy it and just have fun. I was able to hit a lot of good shots and the putts fell today. We fought hard this week and I wouldn't wanna play with any body but these guys. Hail State!"
SEC Championship
1. LSU (281+276+277=834, -6)
T2. Florida (293+278+272=843, +3)
T2. Vanderbilt (276+283+284=843, +3)
T4. Auburn (280+286+282=848, +8)
T4. Arkansas (289+285+274=848, +8)
T4. Alabama (283+280+285=848, +8)
T7. Ole Miss (288+277+286=851, +11)
T7. Texas A&M (296+277+278=851, +11)
9. Tennessee (280+290+284=854, +14)
10. Kentucky (286+283+287=856, +16)
11. Georgia (291+282+289=862, +22)
12. Mississippi State (293+284+287=864, +24)
13. South Carolina (288+287+290=865, +25)
14. Missouri (287+296+290=873, +33)
MSU Players
T21. Taylor Grant (75+69+68=222, +2)
T36. Taylor Bibbs (71+70+76=217, +7)
T36. Peng Pichaikool (75+71+71=217, +7)
T63. Garrett Johnson (72+74+78=224, +14)
T63. Cameron Clarke (78+74+72=224, +12)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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