Sunday, September 22
Dallas, Texas (Trinity Forest GC)
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
Trinity Forest Invitational
Photo by: John Weast
State Opens Play at Trinity Forest Invitational on Sunday
September 21, 2019 | Men's Golf
By McRae Clay, Student Assistant/Communications
DALLAS, Texas – For the first time in program history, the Mississippi State men's golf team will travel to the Lone Star State to play in the Trinity Forest Invitational at the Trinity Forest Golf Club located in Dallas, Texas.
The third annual Trinity Forest Invitational features a diverse field playing the par-71 7,486-yard course. The Trinity Forest Golf Club has played host to the annual PGA Tour event, the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, since 2018.
The 17 teams will play one round each day from Sunday through Tuesday. The field consists of host SMU along with Abilene Christian, Arizona State, Ball State, College of Charleston, Denver, Houston, Kansas State, Little Rock, Marquette, North Texas, Rice, Sam Houston State, UC Davis, UTSA and Virginia.
Head coach Dusty Smith said, "We have had some time off since the Carmel Cup to clean some things up. The focus and preparation has been very good these past two weeks. This will be a good test for our team this week. We must do the little things well in order to be successful this week. This golf course requires your full attention to detail on every shot. We look forward to the opportunity to learn and grow as a group as we take this next step."
Smith's starting lineup will feature senior Garrett Johnson, sophomore Ford Clegg, and freshman Hunter Logan, who all appeared in the Carmel Cup earlier this season. Junior Cameron Clarke and sophomore Austin Vukovits will make their fall season debuts.
Last season, Johnson became the first Bulldog to win an event since 2017 when he earned medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. He also placed top-5 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. This season, he finished the 2019 Carmel Cup in 16th, the second-highest finish on the team.
Clegg was named the SEC Freshman of the Week twice last season. He put together four consecutive top-15 finishes between October and March and six top 15s total, the second-best mark on the squad.
Logan is looking to continue his stellar amateur career as he will play in Maroon and White for the second time. The Steens, Mississippi native was the 2017 Mississippi Junior Golfer of the Year and the 2017 Mississippi Junior Amateur Champion. He made his Bulldog debut earlier this season and finished tied for 20th at the historic Carmel Cup.
For the first time in 2019-20, Clarke and Vukovits will compete for the Bulldogs.
In his freshman season, Clarke finished tied for sixth in the Bighorn Invitational at the Bighorn Golf Club. He competed in three events his sophomore year.
Vukovits appeared in four events during his freshman campaign. He recorded a hole-in-one in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate at Old Overton Golf Club last season.
Vukovits will tee off from hole 1 at 8:00 a.m. CT. Scores will be updated courtesy of Golfstat.com.
State senior Peng Pichaikool will be playing at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship from Sept. 26-29 at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Instagram or Twitter by searching @HailStateMG.
DALLAS, Texas – For the first time in program history, the Mississippi State men's golf team will travel to the Lone Star State to play in the Trinity Forest Invitational at the Trinity Forest Golf Club located in Dallas, Texas.
The third annual Trinity Forest Invitational features a diverse field playing the par-71 7,486-yard course. The Trinity Forest Golf Club has played host to the annual PGA Tour event, the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship, since 2018.
The 17 teams will play one round each day from Sunday through Tuesday. The field consists of host SMU along with Abilene Christian, Arizona State, Ball State, College of Charleston, Denver, Houston, Kansas State, Little Rock, Marquette, North Texas, Rice, Sam Houston State, UC Davis, UTSA and Virginia.
Head coach Dusty Smith said, "We have had some time off since the Carmel Cup to clean some things up. The focus and preparation has been very good these past two weeks. This will be a good test for our team this week. We must do the little things well in order to be successful this week. This golf course requires your full attention to detail on every shot. We look forward to the opportunity to learn and grow as a group as we take this next step."
Smith's starting lineup will feature senior Garrett Johnson, sophomore Ford Clegg, and freshman Hunter Logan, who all appeared in the Carmel Cup earlier this season. Junior Cameron Clarke and sophomore Austin Vukovits will make their fall season debuts.
Last season, Johnson became the first Bulldog to win an event since 2017 when he earned medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. He also placed top-5 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. This season, he finished the 2019 Carmel Cup in 16th, the second-highest finish on the team.
Clegg was named the SEC Freshman of the Week twice last season. He put together four consecutive top-15 finishes between October and March and six top 15s total, the second-best mark on the squad.
Logan is looking to continue his stellar amateur career as he will play in Maroon and White for the second time. The Steens, Mississippi native was the 2017 Mississippi Junior Golfer of the Year and the 2017 Mississippi Junior Amateur Champion. He made his Bulldog debut earlier this season and finished tied for 20th at the historic Carmel Cup.
For the first time in 2019-20, Clarke and Vukovits will compete for the Bulldogs.
In his freshman season, Clarke finished tied for sixth in the Bighorn Invitational at the Bighorn Golf Club. He competed in three events his sophomore year.
Vukovits appeared in four events during his freshman campaign. He recorded a hole-in-one in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate at Old Overton Golf Club last season.
Vukovits will tee off from hole 1 at 8:00 a.m. CT. Scores will be updated courtesy of Golfstat.com.
State senior Peng Pichaikool will be playing at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship from Sept. 26-29 at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Instagram or Twitter by searching @HailStateMG.
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