State Second After First Round At Pebble Beach

Friday, September 3

Carmel, Calif. (Pebble Beach Golf Links)

Mississippi State

Carmel Cup

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

State Second After First Round At Pebble Beach

September 03, 2021 | Men's Golf

Results

By: Josie Hutton, Student Assistant/Communications

CARMEL, Calif. – Mississippi State saw all six golfers finish in the top 20 after Round 1 of the Carmel Cup at historic Pebble Beach. The Bulldogs currently sit one stroke back from the top of the leaderboard, finishing the round at 4-under.

MSU put together a total of 26 birdies with four players shooting five each. The Bulldogs shot a team score of 356, which is State's lowest round at Pebble Beach under head coach Dusty Smith.

"I was pleased with our round today. I thought we did a good job of playing as a team and having all six guys in the round," Smith said. "Our goal today was to have an elite mindset and be the most present focused team. I thought we did a nice job of owning and controlling that part of our game today."

The Bulldogs were headlined by a bogey free back nine from senior Ben Nelson who finished the day 3-under and is tied for fourth.

"It was an absolute blast, and we are all very blessed to be able to play at Pebble Beach. This is truly the best tournament in college golf," Nelson stated. "Today, I was able to control my golf ball really well from the tee ball all the way to the green. I knew if I did a good job of doing the simple things well, then it was going to be a good day. That is what Coach Smith has been preaching all of practices, doing little things well."

Junior Hunter Logan went 2-under and finished in the top 10. Logan's performance was highlighted by back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven. Sophomore Pedro Cruz Silva finished the first day shooting one under with five birdies, with back-to-back birdies on Holes 17 and 18.

Senior Ford Clegg, sophomore Loic Ettlin and freshman Jay Nimmo all finished 1-over for the first round. Clegg came back from his front nine with two consecutive birdies on Holes 13 and 14 to finish two under on the back nine. Ettlin and Nimmo both completed their first round with three birdies.

"We have a lot of golf in front of us and have an opportunity tomorrow to be the best version of us that we can be," Smith added, "Our focus remains on doing the simple things well, having an elite mindset, playing as a team, and playing to our own standard."

The Bulldogs continue their competition tomorrow at 10:10 a.m. CT. Live stats will be available on Golfstat.com.

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

2021 Carmel Cup – First Round
1. Georgia (355, -5)
2. Mississippi State (356, -4)
T3. Texas Tech (357, -3)
T3. Oklahoma State (357, -3)
5. Arkansas (358, -2)
6. Oklahoma (359, -1)
7. Vanderbilt (361, +1)
8. TCU (378, +18)

MSU Players
T4. Ben Nelson (73, -3)
T9. Hunter Logan (70, -2)
T15. Pedro Cruz Silva (71, -1)
T20. Ford Clegg (73, +1)
T20. Loic Ettlin (73, +1)
T20. Jay Nimmo (73, +1)