State Wins Team Title Sweeps Top Two Individual Spots

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Mississippi State

Steelwood Intercollegiate

State Wins Team Title Sweeps Top Two Individual Spots

October 27, 2019 | Men's Golf

By McRae Clay, Student Assistant/Communications
MOBILE, Alabama – Mississippi State men's golf earned the second team victory of the Dusty Smith era and topped the 13-team field by 14 strokes on Sunday at the 2019 Steelwood Collegiate Invitational.

The Golf Dawgs dominated the field with four top 20 finishes ignited by sophomore Ford Clegg who took home the individual title, and senior Garrett Johnson who registered a second-place finish, one stroke off Clegg's winning pace.

"I am so happy for this team," head coach Dusty Smith said."They are a tough minded and resilient bunch. This was a total team effort from top to bottom this week."

Clegg captured his first career college crown thanks to a five-under, bogey free final round. He struggled hitting the ball on the front nine, but was 5-for-5 making midrange putts.

"The whole time I was telling myself to be patient and that the birdies would start dropping," Clegg said.

He converted on both reachable par fives on holes 9 and 10. Then, it was smooth sailing from there as the sophomore drained a 10-footer for par on 13 to keep the momentum. He was able to birdie 16 and 18 to finish strong. His putter was the key to his success because he was able to make the momentum putts to keep his championship round going the right direction.

On the weekend, Clegg carded 14 birdies and bested Johnson for the individual title by just one stroke.

"To win individual was big to me because it's a goal I've had ever since I committed," Clegg said. "To be able to break through and win was huge because the time and effort is paying off. To know that I can win at the college level is huge because I proved I can compete with the best of the best and continue to get better and take the momentum into the spring season."

Johnson also played great golf this weekend. The senior's tournament was highlighted by a six-under second round where he fired three birdies in a row on holes three through five. He shot two-under during Sunday's final round and earned a second place finish, his highest this season.

Freshman Hunter Logan played pretty consistent golf and posted scores of 71, 72 and 74. He finished tied for 14 th, his best finish of the season.

Senior Peng Pichaikool responded with a bogey free score of two-under after he finished the first two rounds making a 73 and 75, respectively. He bolted 20 spots up the leader board to end in a tie for 16th.

"We had a great opportunity in front of us today, and the guys took advantage of it," Smith said. "Obviously, happy for Ford getting the individual win. I know it is something he has worked hard for. Garrett did an unbelievable job this week and was right there with a chance to win on the last hole. Really proud of Peng's response today in the final round. He played a huge round for the team."

Junior Austin Fulton started the day off hot with a birdy on one but ended his round with a four-over, 76.

State dominated the par-four's on the 7096 yard course and averaged 12 strokes better than the field, which included No. 38 Arkansas State. The Bulldogs also came away a stroke better than any team on the par-five's.

Sophomore Ben Nelson, who competed as an individual, moved up the leader board seven spots after round two to finish in a eight-way tie for 29th. He shot two-under on the front nine while keeping his scorecard clean.

Freshman William Wann, also competing as an individual, improved his scores each day. He finished the tournament with a total score of 230.

"Winning is a difficult thing to do," Smith said. "I want our guys to celebrate what they accomplished this week. It is exactly what we needed heading into the offseason. We will take these next few months to get better and to continue to grow as a team."

The next event for State is January 27th and 28th when the Golf Dawgs travel to Arizona Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Arizona in Tucson.

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

Steelwood Collegiate Invitational
1. Mississippi State (-19, 286+278+281 = 845)
2. Arkansas State (-5, 288+290+281 = 859)
3. Indiana (-1, 289+290+284 = 863)
4. Kennesaw State (+4, 291+288+289 = 868)
5. Cincinnati (+7, 291+294+286 = 871)
6. South Alabama (+8, 301+284+287 = 872)
7. Kentucky (+18, 296+290+296 = 882)
8. Rice (+20, 298+294+292 = 884)
9. Wofford (+25, 298+289+302 = 889)
10. Richmond (+28, 293+292+307 = 892)
11. Navy (+30, 303+299+292 = 894)
12. North Alabama (+33, 301+297+299 = 897)
13. Davidson (+47, 306+295+310 = 911)

Mississippi State Bulldogs
1. Ford Clegg (-10, 71+68+67 = 206)
2. Garrett Johnson (-9, 71+66+70 = 207)
T14. Hunter Logan (+1, 71+72+74 = 217)
T16. Peng Pichaikool (+2, 73+75+70 = 218)
T37. Austin Fulton (+6, 74+72+76 = 222)

Individuals
T29. Ben Nelson (+5, 79+69+73 = 221)
T63. William Wann (+14 78+77+75 = 230)