Golf Dawgs To Tee Off Season At Pebble Beach Friday

by Austin Coats, Student Assistant/Communications

PEBBLE BEACH, California –Mississippi State football is not the only Bulldog squad to kick off its season this weekend, as the MSU men's golf team will tee off at one of America's most prestigious courses.

The "Golf Dawgs" will begin their second season under head coach Dusty Smith on Friday at the Carmel Cup on the Par-72, 6,828-yard Pebble Beach Golf Links. Live stats will be available via Golfstat.

"I am really excited to get the opportunity to bring our team to Pebble Beach to open our season up," Smith said. "This tournament and this course are so special, and I want our guys to enjoy this moment and soak it in."

"This is a new team with a new identity. We have a solid foundation to build upon so I am looking forward to this first step this weekend."

In his inaugural season, Smith led Mississippi State to six Top 5 finishes on its way to its 10th NCAA Regional appearance, the program's first since 2014.

State will play three rounds over as many days, beginning with Friday's opening round and concluding the 54-hole event on Sunday.

Smith's first lineup card of the season will feature six Bulldogs, as the five best scores will count towards the team score in each round.

Juniors Peng Pichaikool and Garrett Johnson will lead the Bulldogs out on Friday. The duo has played in 13 straight tournaments going back to the 2016-17 campaign.

In the third spot, freshman Ford Clegg is set to make his collegiate debut this weekend. The Birmingham, Alabama, native helped Mountain Brook High School win consecutive 7A state titles in 2017 and 2018 and qualified for the USGA Junior Amateur Championship this summer.

Senior Austin Rose will get his senior season started as MSU's No. 4. This summer, Rose won the Magnolia Amateur after an 8-under-par performance.

Sophomores Austin Fulton and Hunter Hammett round out State's six as each make their first appearance on a lineup card -- both played in two tournaments as individuals as freshmen in the 2017-18 campaign.

State will face off against seven teams at the Carmel Cup, including SEC opponents Vanderbilt, Georgia and Arkansas. Texas Tech, Oklahoma, TCU and Oklahoma State will also compete at Pebble Beach. All eight teams reached NCAA Regional play in 2018.

Hunter Hammett is scheduled as the first Bulldog off the tee Friday morning, set to start at 9:00 a.m. CT from the first hole.

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 am really excited to get the opportunity to bring our team to Pebble Beach to open our season up. This tournament and this course are so special, and I want our guys to enjoy this moment and soak it in. This is a new team with a new identity. We have a solid foundation to build upon so I am looking forward to this first step this weekend. We have to take deliberate ownership in how we prepare ourselves, in how we compete and in how we stay in our present moment and process. The focus needs to be on our preparation and our attention to detail. It is about us controlling what we can control. I am excited to see how this year's group comes together."

Need To Know:

The Mississippi State men's golf program is set to begin its 46th season.
Of the 183 team rounds played in 2017-18, State's returning players played in 69 percent of those rounds.
Beginning his junior season, Peng Pichaikool has posted Top 5 single-season stroke averages in each of his first two seasons as a Bulldog. His 71.15 average as a freshman is second all-time and his 71.75 mark in the 2017-18 campaign ranks fourth.
Ford Clegg, a freshman from Birmingham, Alabama, is slated to make his debut in the Maroon and White on Friday as the third name on Dusty Smith's lineup card.
Hunter Hammett and Austin Fulton are scheduled to make their first appearance on an MSU lineup card. Each played in two tournaments as individuals in 2017-18.
Austin Rose will start his senior season at State when he tees off on Friday.

Golf Dawgs To Tee Off Season At Pebble Beach Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ford Clegg

Austin Fulton

Hunter Hammett

Garrett Johnson

Peng Pichaikool

Austin Rose

Mississippi State University Athletics