No. 18 State Sixth After First Round At Watersound Invitational

Monday, February 17

Panama City Beach, Fla. (Shark's Tooth GC)

Mississippi State

Watersound Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, AR - September 30, 2024 - Mississippi State's Dan Richie during the Blessings Collegiate Invitational at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, AR. Photo By Wesley Hitt

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 18 State Sixth After First Round At Watersound Invitational

February 17, 2025 | Men's Golf

By: Daniel Black, Student Assistant/Communications

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – No. 18 Mississippi State braved challenging conditions to fire a score of 3-over 291 and sit in a tie for sixth after day one of the Watersound Invitational.

"I was really pleased with how we handled adversity today," head coach Dusty Smith said. "I thought we managed the cold temperatures and wind fairly well at the start. I felt like everyone hung tough today. We need to clean up our finish that we had on 18 today. It's always nice to get the first round under our belt after a long layover. We are excited for the opportunity that is in front of us."

The Bulldogs were led by Dain Richie, who tied his MSU-career-best round versus par with a 1-under 71. The senior carded five birdies for the day and tied the field's best score on par-5s at 3-under. It is Richie's sixth round of par or better for the 2024-25 season, tied for the most on the squad. He enters Round 2 in a tie for 13th.

Josep Serra and Ugo Malcor both shot gritty rounds of 1-over 73. Starting slow, the two Europeans were able to rebound with two birdies apiece on the back nine.

Garrett Endicott also finished on a high note, birdieing two of his last four holes to conclude the round at 2-over 74. Drew Wilson also shot a 74, playing steady golf with all pars on the front nine before putting two birdies on the card on the closing nine.

Because of potential inclement weather on Wednesday, 36 holes will be played on Tuesday. The Bulldogs are slated to tee off in a shotgun start at 8 a.m. CT. Live results are available on Golfstat.

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