Friday, April 22
St. Simons Island, Ga. (Sea Island Seaside Course)
Mississippi State
vs
SEC Championship (Stroke Play)
Men’s Golf Advances to Match Play at SEC Championship
April 22, 2022 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Mississippi State men's golf advanced to the match play of the 2022 SEC Men's Golf Championship on Friday. The Bulldogs will be No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals and will face the top-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday morning.
State shot 5-over for the day, finishing stroke play in eighth place with a 54-hole total of 844 (4-over).
"First of all, I'm extremely happy for our entire team, all 11 guys on the team," head coach Dusty Smith said. "For them to accomplish this is something really special. It's the first time in program history that we've made match play, so I'm really excited about that. Our goal our whole year was to be better at the end when it mattered most. I felt like this week we did that. Championship season, that's when you have to be at your best. For us to qualify in the top-eight and get a tee time and match play is something very special."
Ford Clegg completed a bogey-free front nine to wrap up stroke play tied for 11th place at 2-under. It marked Clegg's fifth top-15 finish for the season and 11th top-20 finish of his career. Clegg tacked on seven birdies over the three rounds.
Hunter Logan completed a bogey-free front nine and added three birdies on Holes 2, 5 and 6 to finish stroke play at 2-over tied for 25th. Logan had 10 birdies throughout competition.
Harrison Davis entered the final round of stroke play as an alternate for the Bulldogs. This was Davis career-debut in the lineup for Mississippi State though he had played as an individual before in his Bulldog career. Davis tacked on four birdies throughout his 18 holes and shot a 1-over 71.
"I'm really proud of Harrison Davis coming in as a sub and playing his first ever round on the actual team and not as an individual and going out there and shooting a huge round of 71. Pedro [Cruz Silva] felt a little under the weather with a stomach issue and he couldn't go this morning, so Harrison had to step up in that role – it's huge. Ben Nelson, I challenged him last night to go do what fifth-year seniors are supposed to do, and he played a phenomenal round for us. I'm proud of Ford [Clegg] with how he battled and same for Hunter Logan. Ruan [Pretorius] did the same. He just hung in there all week and gave us some big rounds."
Ben Nelson went bogey-free for 14 consecutive holes with two birdies on Holes 2 and 11 to shoot even for the day. Nelson finished at tied for 54th. Ruan Pretorius completed the 54-holes at 5-over and tied for 42nd.
"It was a big day for our whole program," Smith added. "I'm proud of everybody. Just an overall great day and looking forward to match play tomorrow."
The Bulldogs will begin match play tomorrow morning at approximately 6:30 a.m. CT. SEC Network+ will have digital coverage of the semifinal matches beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "HailStateMG."
State shot 5-over for the day, finishing stroke play in eighth place with a 54-hole total of 844 (4-over).
"First of all, I'm extremely happy for our entire team, all 11 guys on the team," head coach Dusty Smith said. "For them to accomplish this is something really special. It's the first time in program history that we've made match play, so I'm really excited about that. Our goal our whole year was to be better at the end when it mattered most. I felt like this week we did that. Championship season, that's when you have to be at your best. For us to qualify in the top-eight and get a tee time and match play is something very special."
Ford Clegg completed a bogey-free front nine to wrap up stroke play tied for 11th place at 2-under. It marked Clegg's fifth top-15 finish for the season and 11th top-20 finish of his career. Clegg tacked on seven birdies over the three rounds.
Hunter Logan completed a bogey-free front nine and added three birdies on Holes 2, 5 and 6 to finish stroke play at 2-over tied for 25th. Logan had 10 birdies throughout competition.
Harrison Davis entered the final round of stroke play as an alternate for the Bulldogs. This was Davis career-debut in the lineup for Mississippi State though he had played as an individual before in his Bulldog career. Davis tacked on four birdies throughout his 18 holes and shot a 1-over 71.
"I'm really proud of Harrison Davis coming in as a sub and playing his first ever round on the actual team and not as an individual and going out there and shooting a huge round of 71. Pedro [Cruz Silva] felt a little under the weather with a stomach issue and he couldn't go this morning, so Harrison had to step up in that role – it's huge. Ben Nelson, I challenged him last night to go do what fifth-year seniors are supposed to do, and he played a phenomenal round for us. I'm proud of Ford [Clegg] with how he battled and same for Hunter Logan. Ruan [Pretorius] did the same. He just hung in there all week and gave us some big rounds."
Ben Nelson went bogey-free for 14 consecutive holes with two birdies on Holes 2 and 11 to shoot even for the day. Nelson finished at tied for 54th. Ruan Pretorius completed the 54-holes at 5-over and tied for 42nd.
"It was a big day for our whole program," Smith added. "I'm proud of everybody. Just an overall great day and looking forward to match play tomorrow."
The Bulldogs will begin match play tomorrow morning at approximately 6:30 a.m. CT. SEC Network+ will have digital coverage of the semifinal matches beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "HailStateMG."
Players Mentioned
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