Golf Dawgs go West to Continue Spring

By Austin Coats, Student Assistant/Communications

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Almost three weeks separated from its previous tournament, Mississippi State men's golf is set to continue its 2018-19 campaign.

MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith and his team will begin play at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Saturday at the par-72, 7,107-yard Desert Mountain Outlaw Course. The teams will play two opening rounds Saturday and a final round Sunday. Live stats will be available throughout the weekend on Golfstat.com.

MSU junior Peng Pichaikool will play in his first tournament since being named to the Arnold Palmer Cup International Team on Wednesday. The Palmer Cup rated Pichaikool as the third-best men's international golfer after he took his fourth consecutive top-15 finish at MSU's spring opener, the Florida Gators Invitational.

Peng is the top-ranked golfer at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate according to Golfstat.com, which places him No. 24th among collegiate golfers.

Fellow junior Garrett Johnson will make his 19th consecutive start, while freshman Ford Clegg is set to start his sixth consecutive event. Johnson, Clegg and Pichaikool all placed inside the top 20 at State's previous tournament, the Florida Gators Invitational.

Senior Ross Bell also returns from MSU's last event, where he made the trip but was unable to compete due to illness. Bell's last finish was at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in October, where he tied for fourth.

Making his first start of the spring and second of the season, sophomore Cameron Clarke rounds out the MSU lineup.

Redshirt freshman Ben Nelson will represent MSU as an individual at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate.

The 12-team field includes No. 38 Kansas, No. 41 Marquette, No. 44 Northwestern, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Harvard, Lipscomb, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Rutgers and the host, Michigan.

MSU men's golf coach Dusty Smith:

"Our team is excited to head out west and compete on a different type of course than we normally see. We had a great week of preparation and focused on the simple things. In order for us to be successful, we need to focus on what we can control and forget about results. We need to embrace our daily process of getting better each day."

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

Golf Dawgs go West to Continue Spring

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Players Mentioned

Ross Bell

Cameron Clarke

Ford Clegg

Garrett Johnson

Ben Nelson

Peng Pichaikool

Mississippi State University Athletics