Tuesday, October 8
South Bend, Ind. (Warren GC)
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
Fighting Irish Classic
Career Day for Clegg as Golf Dawgs Wrap Up at Notre Dame
October 08, 2019 | Men's Golf
By McRae Clay, Student Assistant/Communications
SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Sophomore Ford Clegg shot a career low five-under in Tuesday's final round at the Fighting Irish Classic on the Notre Dame campus.
Clegg's final round charge was fueled by seven birdies that bolted him 18 spots up the leaderboard to claim a seventh-place tie with Notre Dame's Palmer Jackson. This marks the second-highest finish of his Bulldog career. Last season, he placed third at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in March 2019.
On Clegg's first hole of the day, number 10, he got greenside in two on the par-5 for his opening birdie. A few holes later, he chipped in for another birdie on the 14th hole to really get his day started.
"That chip in was key to gain the momentum," Clegg said. "I didn't slow down after that."
Clegg strung together solid birdie putts on 16 and 17. Then, he rolled in another good putt on hole three to register his fifth birdie. He got up-and-down on the fifth hole from 30 yards out and sunk a 15-footer on hole nine to write a 66 on his scorecard.
"Ford did a great job of giving us a huge round today when we truly needed it,' head coach Dusty Smith said. "We are not where we need to be yet but today we became more of a team. We need to takes these next few weeks to continue to get better. All you can do is get back up and keep at it."
As a team, the Bulldogs collected a two-over, 286 for the second consecutive round. Mississippi State advanced a spot to secure a ninth-place finish and its second top 10 finish. The Golf Dawgs improved their team score by ten strokes from the first round to the second and third rounds.
"We need to take these next few weeks to continue to get better. All you can do is get back up and keep at it. I love this team and what they are about," Smith said. "We are close to playing great golf and we need to keep focusing on our process and holding each other accountable to our standard."
Senior Garrett Johnson carded a top 25 finish, his second of the season. In today's final round, he shot a bogey free front nine and ended the day two-over, 73. Johnson finished the event one-over and tied for 23rd place.
On his birthday, junior Austin Fulton strung together his best round of the tournament. He dialed up a one-over, 72 with three birdies in a row on the front nine.
Playing as an individual, Daniel Martinez wrapped up his first event in the Maroon and White. His tournament was highlighted by an even par second round as he finished with a score of 227.
Junior Cameron Clarke improved his score with each round and ended the tournament with a total score of 231.
Senior Peng Pichaikool went down with an injury and did not compete in the final round.
"I thought we showed a lot of resiliency and character out there today. Obviously it's always tough when one of your players goes down with an injury and you have to play with 4," Smith said. "Our guys hung in there and played with a lot of heart. That's what being a Bulldog is all about."
The Bulldogs will travel to Killen, Alabama for the TVA Community Credit Union Invitational on October 21 and 22. Scores will be updated courtesy of Golfstat.com.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Instagram or Twitter by searching @HailStateMG.
Fighting Irish Classic
1. Notre Dame (283+271+282 = 836, -16)
2. North Carolina (279+282+276 = 837, -15)
3. Iowa (295+279+281 = 855, +3)
T4. Arizona State (291+288+284 = 863, +11)
T4. Rutgers (284+289+290 = 863, +11)
T6. Boston College (290+284+290 = 864, +12)
T6. Kent State (290+287+287 = 864, +12)
8. Iowa State (298+286+282 = 866, +14)
9. Mississippi State (296+286+286 = 868, +16)
10. Missouri-Kansas City (289+290+290 = 869, +17)
11. Michigan State (285+294+291 = 870, +18)
12. Michigan (294+289+288 = 871, +19)
13. Georgia Southern (299+292+287 = 878, +26)
14. Toledo (294+295+292 =881, +29)
Mississippi State
T7. Ford Clegg (73+71+66 = 210, -3)
T23. Garrett Johnson (72+69+73 = 214, +1)
T56. Austin Fulton (76+76+72 = 224, +11)
T77. Cameron Clarke (79+77+75 = 231, +18)
81. Peng Pichaikool (75+70+0 = 145, +3)
Individual
1. Daniel Martinez (72+71+84 = 227, +13)
SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Sophomore Ford Clegg shot a career low five-under in Tuesday's final round at the Fighting Irish Classic on the Notre Dame campus.
Clegg's final round charge was fueled by seven birdies that bolted him 18 spots up the leaderboard to claim a seventh-place tie with Notre Dame's Palmer Jackson. This marks the second-highest finish of his Bulldog career. Last season, he placed third at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in March 2019.
On Clegg's first hole of the day, number 10, he got greenside in two on the par-5 for his opening birdie. A few holes later, he chipped in for another birdie on the 14th hole to really get his day started.
"That chip in was key to gain the momentum," Clegg said. "I didn't slow down after that."
Clegg strung together solid birdie putts on 16 and 17. Then, he rolled in another good putt on hole three to register his fifth birdie. He got up-and-down on the fifth hole from 30 yards out and sunk a 15-footer on hole nine to write a 66 on his scorecard.
"Ford did a great job of giving us a huge round today when we truly needed it,' head coach Dusty Smith said. "We are not where we need to be yet but today we became more of a team. We need to takes these next few weeks to continue to get better. All you can do is get back up and keep at it."
As a team, the Bulldogs collected a two-over, 286 for the second consecutive round. Mississippi State advanced a spot to secure a ninth-place finish and its second top 10 finish. The Golf Dawgs improved their team score by ten strokes from the first round to the second and third rounds.
"We need to take these next few weeks to continue to get better. All you can do is get back up and keep at it. I love this team and what they are about," Smith said. "We are close to playing great golf and we need to keep focusing on our process and holding each other accountable to our standard."
Senior Garrett Johnson carded a top 25 finish, his second of the season. In today's final round, he shot a bogey free front nine and ended the day two-over, 73. Johnson finished the event one-over and tied for 23rd place.
On his birthday, junior Austin Fulton strung together his best round of the tournament. He dialed up a one-over, 72 with three birdies in a row on the front nine.
Playing as an individual, Daniel Martinez wrapped up his first event in the Maroon and White. His tournament was highlighted by an even par second round as he finished with a score of 227.
Junior Cameron Clarke improved his score with each round and ended the tournament with a total score of 231.
Senior Peng Pichaikool went down with an injury and did not compete in the final round.
"I thought we showed a lot of resiliency and character out there today. Obviously it's always tough when one of your players goes down with an injury and you have to play with 4," Smith said. "Our guys hung in there and played with a lot of heart. That's what being a Bulldog is all about."
The Bulldogs will travel to Killen, Alabama for the TVA Community Credit Union Invitational on October 21 and 22. Scores will be updated courtesy of Golfstat.com.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Instagram or Twitter by searching @HailStateMG.
Fighting Irish Classic
1. Notre Dame (283+271+282 = 836, -16)
2. North Carolina (279+282+276 = 837, -15)
3. Iowa (295+279+281 = 855, +3)
T4. Arizona State (291+288+284 = 863, +11)
T4. Rutgers (284+289+290 = 863, +11)
T6. Boston College (290+284+290 = 864, +12)
T6. Kent State (290+287+287 = 864, +12)
8. Iowa State (298+286+282 = 866, +14)
9. Mississippi State (296+286+286 = 868, +16)
10. Missouri-Kansas City (289+290+290 = 869, +17)
11. Michigan State (285+294+291 = 870, +18)
12. Michigan (294+289+288 = 871, +19)
13. Georgia Southern (299+292+287 = 878, +26)
14. Toledo (294+295+292 =881, +29)
Mississippi State
T7. Ford Clegg (73+71+66 = 210, -3)
T23. Garrett Johnson (72+69+73 = 214, +1)
T56. Austin Fulton (76+76+72 = 224, +11)
T77. Cameron Clarke (79+77+75 = 231, +18)
81. Peng Pichaikool (75+70+0 = 145, +3)
Individual
1. Daniel Martinez (72+71+84 = 227, +13)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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/ Men's Golf
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