Saturday, February 16
Gainesville, Fla. (Mark Bostick GC)
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
Florida Gators Invitational
Men’s Golf Set to Open Spring in Gainesville
February 15, 2019 | Men's Golf
By Austin Coats, Student Assistant/Communications
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a 111-day break, Mississippi State men's golf coach Dusty Smith and his team will play its first tournament of the spring this weekend at the Florida Gators Invitational.
State will play two opening rounds Saturday before the tournament finishes with Sunday's third round at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course. Live results will be available via Golfstat.com.
The Gator Invitational field features nine Golfstat.com Top 100 players, including MSU's Peng Pichaikool. In the fall, the junior took three top 10 finishes in as many events in the Maroon and White. More recently, Pichaikool was named to watchlists for the Haskins and Ben Hogan Awards. On Thursday, he was ranked third in the newest Arnold Palmer Cup International Team ranking.
Ranked 14th in Golfstat.com's Top 100, Pichaikool is the second-highest ranked player in the Florida Gators Invitational field, eclipsed only by No. 13 Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern.
Four more Bulldogs fill in Coach Smith's lineup card. Senior Ross Bell is back in the starting five after leading the team at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, MSU's final fall event. His fourth-place finish was a career-best and the second-best finish for any MSU individual this season.
Junior Garrett Johnson is set to start his 17th consecutive tournament, a streak that stretches back to the 2016-17 season. In the fall, Johnson sported a 71.67 stroke average and picked up tied-for-13th and tied-for-18th finishes.
Two freshmen, Ford Clegg and Austin Vukovits, get the nod for the weekend. Clegg played in all four of MSU's tournaments during the fall and closed 2018 with a season-best tied-for-11th finish. Vukovits played in States' third event of the season, the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, where he sunk a hole-in-one during the second round.
In the fall, the Golf Dawgs picked up two top-5 finishes as team to begin year two of the Dusty Smith era, including a runner-up performance at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational to close 2018.
The 15-team field includes No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 19 North Florida, No. 29 Liberty, No. 38 West Virginia, No. 41 Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville, Michigan, Missouri, Princeton, Southern Illinois, UCF, USF and the host, No. 33 Florida.
The Bulldogs have played in Florida's home event 20 times since 1977, and its best performance came in 1989 when State finished as the runner-up.
MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith:
"I am really excited for the start of the spring season. I felt like we had a very focused and productive off season. This is the next step in our process. We need to make sure we are disciplined, tough and resilient this week. This golf course will test you in every way, and it's important that we remain focused on what we can control: our attitude and our effort. We talked as a team this week that it's time to go compete. You have to love the competition and become the ultimate competitor. I know the five representing our program this week are excited for this opportunity."
Golfstat.com Top 100 Players (12)
13. Steven Fisk (Georgia Southern)
14. Peng Pichaikool (Mississippi State)
17. Will Gordon (Vanderbilt)
29. Phillip Knowles (North Florida)
32. John Augenstein (Vanderbilt)
37. Patrick Martin (Vanderbilt)
53. Max Sear (West Virginia)
69. Eduardo Carrete (Jacksonville)
83. Albin Bergstrom (South Florida)
84. Ryoto Furuya (South Florida)
85. Matthew Sharpstene (West Virginia)
86. Gabe Lench (Liberty)
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateMG.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a 111-day break, Mississippi State men's golf coach Dusty Smith and his team will play its first tournament of the spring this weekend at the Florida Gators Invitational.
State will play two opening rounds Saturday before the tournament finishes with Sunday's third round at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course. Live results will be available via Golfstat.com.
The Gator Invitational field features nine Golfstat.com Top 100 players, including MSU's Peng Pichaikool. In the fall, the junior took three top 10 finishes in as many events in the Maroon and White. More recently, Pichaikool was named to watchlists for the Haskins and Ben Hogan Awards. On Thursday, he was ranked third in the newest Arnold Palmer Cup International Team ranking.
Ranked 14th in Golfstat.com's Top 100, Pichaikool is the second-highest ranked player in the Florida Gators Invitational field, eclipsed only by No. 13 Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern.
Four more Bulldogs fill in Coach Smith's lineup card. Senior Ross Bell is back in the starting five after leading the team at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, MSU's final fall event. His fourth-place finish was a career-best and the second-best finish for any MSU individual this season.
Junior Garrett Johnson is set to start his 17th consecutive tournament, a streak that stretches back to the 2016-17 season. In the fall, Johnson sported a 71.67 stroke average and picked up tied-for-13th and tied-for-18th finishes.
Two freshmen, Ford Clegg and Austin Vukovits, get the nod for the weekend. Clegg played in all four of MSU's tournaments during the fall and closed 2018 with a season-best tied-for-11th finish. Vukovits played in States' third event of the season, the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, where he sunk a hole-in-one during the second round.
In the fall, the Golf Dawgs picked up two top-5 finishes as team to begin year two of the Dusty Smith era, including a runner-up performance at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational to close 2018.
The 15-team field includes No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 19 North Florida, No. 29 Liberty, No. 38 West Virginia, No. 41 Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville, Michigan, Missouri, Princeton, Southern Illinois, UCF, USF and the host, No. 33 Florida.
The Bulldogs have played in Florida's home event 20 times since 1977, and its best performance came in 1989 when State finished as the runner-up.
MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith:
"I am really excited for the start of the spring season. I felt like we had a very focused and productive off season. This is the next step in our process. We need to make sure we are disciplined, tough and resilient this week. This golf course will test you in every way, and it's important that we remain focused on what we can control: our attitude and our effort. We talked as a team this week that it's time to go compete. You have to love the competition and become the ultimate competitor. I know the five representing our program this week are excited for this opportunity."
Golfstat.com Top 100 Players (12)
13. Steven Fisk (Georgia Southern)
14. Peng Pichaikool (Mississippi State)
17. Will Gordon (Vanderbilt)
29. Phillip Knowles (North Florida)
32. John Augenstein (Vanderbilt)
37. Patrick Martin (Vanderbilt)
53. Max Sear (West Virginia)
69. Eduardo Carrete (Jacksonville)
83. Albin Bergstrom (South Florida)
84. Ryoto Furuya (South Florida)
85. Matthew Sharpstene (West Virginia)
86. Gabe Lench (Liberty)
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateMG.
Players Mentioned
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