Bulldogs Set To Face Seven Ranked Opponents At LSU Invitational

BATON ROUGE, La. – Mississippi State men's golf will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to compete in the LSU Invitational this weekend (Feb. 26-28).

Of the 14 teams in the field, seven are ranked in the top 25 of the Golfstat rankings including No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 15 Auburn, No. 16 Florida, No. 22 Tennessee and No. 24 Alabama.

State's weekend lineup will consist of junior Ford Clegg, senior Garrett Johnson, redshirt junior Ben Nelson, true freshman Loïc Ettlin and sophomore Hunter Logan. Sophomore William Wann will also attend the event competing as an individual.

"This is the next step in our journey, and we need to treat it like that," head coach Dusty Smith said. "Our story this season is far from written, but we get to decide how it ends. This week is all about playing Mississippi State golf which requires discipline, focus and the ability to do your job and focus on the right things."

Usually referred to as the David Toms International, LSU hosts the event annually. The the Bulldogs have not competed in the tournament since the 2012-13 season when the Bulldogs finished ninth overall.

The Bulldogs are coming off a rough outing at the Gator Invitational where they finished the spring opener in 15^th-place. Johnson led the team in the swamp shooting a steady game throughout the tournament with a 68 on the first day and a 69 and 71 on the final two days to finish tied for 35^th.

In the second round of the tournament, Nelson shot a career-low round of 67, one stroke better than his previous 68. Clegg also stood out, shooting a 4-under 66 on day three. Together, the Bulldogs found a balance to improve in the final round and finished with a three-day total of 844.

"We have talked a lot this week of knowing our identity as individual players but most importantly, our identity as a team," Smith said. "We know if we stick to our process, results will follow."

The Bulldogs will tee off at the par-72 University Club at 9:20 a.m. CT on Friday. Fans and spectators are welcome to attend the tournament and will be expected to wear masks and socially distance while at the course.

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Bulldogs Set To Face Seven Ranked Opponents At LSU Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Ford Clegg

Garrett Johnson

Hunter Logan

Ben Nelson

William Wann

Mississippi State University Athletics