Mississippi State Begins NCAA New Haven Regional

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Mississippi State is set to play in the New Haven Regional at the Yale Golf par-70, 6,409-yard Course beginning on Monday in New Haven, Connecticut. The Bulldogs will be represented at the regional by Ford Clegg, Hunter Logan, Pedro Cruz Silva, Harrison Davis, Ruan Pretorius and Ben Nelson at the three-day, 54-hole tournament.

"Our guys have done a great job of preparing for this week," head coach Dusty Smith said. "It's important for us to play within our system and play to our standard. It's easy to focus on what this week means, but we need to focus on one shot at a time and doing our job. We are excited for this opportunity, and we need to embrace the challenges that come with this week."

Mississippi State is competing in the program's 4th straight NCAA men's golf tournament and is the No. 9 seed at the regional site where they will be going up against No. 5 North Carolina, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 17 Wake Forest, No. 20 Illinois, No. 27 NC State, Charlotte, North Florida, Georgia Southern, Virginia, UCF, Seton Hall, Yale and Sacred Heart. This will be the third regional tournament for Clegg and the second for Logan.

Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted next week throughout the country. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The top five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals. Regional play is considered preliminary rounds of the NCAA championships competition and all national championship policies apply.

Clegg at the No. 1 spot for State is coming off a top-15 finish at the 2022 SEC Championship. Clegg shot 4-under through the first two rounds to claim his place. Logan rounded out his regular season with a 2nd place finish at the 2022 Mossy Oak Collegiate where he had a 9-under performance.

Cruz Silva at the No. 3 spot has been a consistent starter for the Bulldogs and will play in his 10th tournament this season. Cruz Silva had a career-low 67, 3-under, round during the second round of the 2022 SEC Championship where he had four straight birdies on Holes 15-18. Davis is set at the No. 4 spot. Davis served as an alternate at the 2022 SEC Championship. During the third round, Davis entered the tournament as a starter and buried a 35-foot putt for a birdie on Hole 18 to help the Bulldogs to advance to match play.

Rounding it out for State is Pretorius, who fought back during match play at the 2022 SEC Championship from a two-stroke deficit with two holes to play and pushed the match to an extra hole before falling by one stroke. Nelson will serve as an alternate for the Bulldogs in his first NCAA appearance.

The Bulldogs are paired with North Florida and Georgia Southern on Monday starting at 8:25 a.m. CT with Pretorius teeing off first from Hole 1.

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Mississippi State Begins NCAA New Haven Regional

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Players Mentioned

Ford Clegg

Pedro Cruz Silva

Harrison Davis

Hunter Logan

Ben Nelson

Ruan Pretorius

Mississippi State University Athletics