State Starts Spring Slate at Arizona Intercollegiate

By McRae Clay, Student Assistant/Communications

TUCSON, Ariz. – Mississippi State men's golf begins the spring season playing in the desert at the Arizona Intercollegiate on January 27-28. The Bulldogs are looking to build on the fall season after they finished as the Steelwood Intercollegiate champions.

The Arizona Intercollegiate features a diverse field playing the Sewailo Golf Club. The par-71 7,292-yard course was named Arizona's best public golf course in 2016 according to Golf Magazine. It plays host to both of the University of Arizona's collegiate golf programs.

The fourteen teams will play 54 holes on Monday and Tuesday. The field consists of host Arizona along with Baylor, New Mexico, Washington, Long Beach State, Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), Saint Mary's, Little Rock, Iowa State, Louisiana-Monroe (ULM), Texas-El Paso (UTEP), Washington State and New Mexico State.

"We are obviously very excited about getting our spring season started in Tucson this week," head coach Dusty Smith said. "I thought we had a very productive off season and took advantage of the opportunity to get better."

Smith's starting lineup will feature senior Peng Pichaikool, sophomore Ford Clegg, senior Garrett Johnson freshman Hunter Logan and sophomore Austin Vukovits. All five Bulldogs played in the fall season.

"This week all comes down to focus and allowing yourself to go and compete at the highest level possible," Smith said. "You cannot force good golf, you have to trust what you have been doing and trust the preparation that has gotten you to this moment. I am excited to watch us compete again!"

Pichaikool started the year strong with an impressive win at the 2019 Singha Championship, a professional event in Thailand where he finished 13 under-par. He also shot an exceptional 65 (-7) in the final round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship to catapult into a tie for 3rd place, only one stroke away from first. He finished in a tie for eighth at the 2019 Carmel Cup and was a part of the top team at the Steelwood Intercollegiate.

Clegg is coming off his first collegiate win at the Steelwood Intercollegiate where he shot a total of 206 (-10). He was the day three daily leader with 67. He competed in every team event for State in the fall, finishing in the top seven twice. The sophomore was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week twice last season.

"I can't wait to tee it up this weekend and get the spring season underway," Clegg said. "It's been a long time since we finished back in October. Building off the momentum gained from the win at Steelwood and the hard work put in this off-season, this team is well rested and prepared for the week ahead. Desert golf, here we come."

The last time State was in Arizona, Johnson won his first collegiate event when he earned medalist honors at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. He is coming off a solid fall finishing the season with a second-place finish at the Steelwood Intercollegiate.

"This off-season was the best one that I have seen in the three-and-a-half years I've been here," Johnson said. "We had multiple guys playing in winter tournaments and guys were working on the right things and it has shown. I'm super proud of the work Austin Vukovits has put in, and I'm happy for the opportunity he has in front of him in Arizona this week. We are a hungry team, and we know that when we focus on the right things and do the little things correctly that we are a really good team. I personally am super excited to get going in my final semester with the Dawgs, but I also know we have to take it one shot and one tournament at a time."

Logan is looking to continue his stellar freshman campaign. He played for the Maroon and White four times in the fall and recorded three top 20 finishes in the fall. The Steens, Mississippi native was the 2017 Mississippi Junior Golfer of the Year and the 2017 Mississippi Junior Amateur Champion.

Vukovits played in two MSU events in the fall, the Trinity Forest Invitational and the TVA Community Credit Union Invitational. Earlier in 2019, he made the cut at the Canadian Amateur Championship and qualified for Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. He finished the Indiana Open tied for 31st and was the 16th highest placing amateur.

Tee off for the Bulldogs is 9 am/CT shotgun start.

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

State Starts Spring Slate at Arizona Intercollegiate

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ford Clegg

Garrett Johnson

Hunter Logan

Austin Vukovits

Mississippi State University Athletics