Clegg Leads Bulldogs Through Two Rounds of Steelwood Collegiate

Saturday, October 30

Loxley, Ala. (Steelwood CC)

Mississippi State

Steelwood Collegiate

Clegg Leads Bulldogs Through Two Rounds of Steelwood Collegiate

October 30, 2021 | Men's Golf

Live Results

By: Josie Hutton, Student Assistant/Communications

LOXLEY, Ala. – Mississippi State senior Ford Clegg shot lights-out for Rounds 1 and 2 of the Steelwood Collegiate to lead the field heading into the final round. The Alabama-native shot a combined 12 birdies through two rounds to sit at 10-under with a 3-stroke lead.

"I just played solid pretty much all day," Clegg said. "I stayed patient and was able to get in a rhythm early. I was able to convert my scoring opportunities and make birdies throughout the day. I am excited for tomorrow!"

After 36 holes on Saturday, the Mississippi State men's golf program is tied for third, just one-stroke behind being second-place host South Alabama. The Bulldogs put together 41 birdies and two eagles at the Steelwood Country Club to card a team score of 11-under 565 in the first two rounds.

When the Bulldogs won the event in 2019, they were just one stroke better through two rounds than this season's performance.

"I thought we showed a lot of resilience and toughness in both rounds today," head coach Dusty Smith stated. "I felt like we were up against the wall early in both rounds but did a great job of sticking to our process and staying focused on the shot at hand. Ford's play was huge for us all day. He did a great job of setting the pace."

In Round 1, the Bulldogs shot 287 to move into a tie for fifth place at 1-under, but State took off from there. MSU shot 10-under for a second-round score of 278, which is tied for the eighth-lowest second round in program history.

Junior Hunter Logan is tied for seventh place. In the first round, Logan went bogey-free for 12 consecutive holes and carded six birdies to give him a 2-under score going into the second round. He didn't stop there and gained five more birdies in Round 2 to finish the day at 4-under par.

Sophomore Pedro Cruz Silva came back from two bogeys early in the first round with three birdies in the back nine. In Round 2, Cruz Silva carded an eagle on Hole 9 followed by birdies on four of the next six holes to sit at 1-under for the tournament.

Competing individually for Mississippi State, senior Austin Vukovits shot four birdies in Round 1. He followed with three second-round birdies to tie with Silva Cruz at 22^ndon the leaderboard.

Sophomore Loïc Ettlin had a major comeback from his first-round mistakes and shot five birdies in Round 2, with three coming back-to-back on Holes 9, 10, and 11. In the first round, Ettlin shot 6-over but rallied to put up a 1-under performance in the second round.

Freshman Jay Nimmo carded five birdies throughout two rounds and looks to improve in the third round. He sits at 7-over par. Senior Ben Nelson, competing as an individual, finished the day at 2-over.

"I'm really proud of how Pedro [Cruz Silva] and Hunter [Logan] handled the day and thought Loïc [Ettlin] did a fantastic job bouncing back in Round 2," Smith added. "Lots of golf to play, but tomorrow is going to be a great opportunity for our team. I want us to enjoy it and have fun with the opportunity."

Nimmo will lead-off of the final round for the Bulldogs on Sunday at 9:10 a.m. CT on Hole 11. Live stats will be available on Golfstat.com.

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

2021 Steelwood Collegiate
1 Missouri (280, 279 = 559, -17)
2 South Alabama (282, 282 = 564, -12)
T3 Mississippi State (287, 278 = 565, -11)
T3 Rutgers (280, 285 = 565, -11)
5 Kentucky (287, 279 = 566, -10)
6 Kansas State (290, 280 = 570, -6)
7 UAB (286, 289 = 575, -1)
8 Cincinnati (287, 289 = 576, E)
9 Memphis (296, 281 = 577, +1)
10 Wisconsin (299, 288 = 587, +11)
11 Louisiana Tech (294, 294 = 588, +12)
T12 Rice (304, 289 = 593, +17)
T12 North Alabama (298, 295 = 593, +17)
14 Kennesaw State (307, 303 = 610, +34)

Mississippi State
1 Ford Clegg (67, 67 = 137, -10)
T7 Hunter Logan (70, 70 = 140, -4)
T22 Pedro Cruz Silva (73, 70 = 143, -1)
T47 Loïc Ettlin (78, 71 = 149, +5)
T62 Jay Nimmo (77, 74 = 151, +7)

Individual
T22 Austin Vukovits (70, 73 = 143, -1)
T37 Ben Nelson (73, 73 = 146, +2)