Mississippi State Begins Spring Season At Watersound Invitational

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – Mississippi State men's golf begins the 2026 spring team season at the Watersound Invitational.

The Bulldogs have made the Watersound a routine stop on their schedule, having played the event for three-consecutive seasons. This year, The Third Golf Course at Watersound Club plays host – a par 71, 7,138-yard layout.

"We've had a good few weeks of preparation and look forward to the week," head coach Dusty Smith said. "The focus and intention in practice has been where it needs to be. We need to go out and trust our training this week with great intention on our playing focus."

This year's field features four schools in the SCOREBOARD Top 25 rankings, all from the SEC – No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 9 Ole Miss, and No. 11 Alabama – with eight more teams competing.

Watersound Invitational Team Lineup

Garrett Endicott (No. 1) – Senior – San Antonio, Tex.

Endicott enters the 2026 spring season after a successful fall campaign. He compiled three top-20 showings with two top 10s in four starts, finishing ninth at both the Carmel Cup and the Blessings Collegiate Invitational.

Garrett leads the team in scoring average (71.45) and par or better rounds (nine). He recently checked in at No. 25 in the PGA Tour U Rankings, currently sitting in the 27th spot.

Ugo Malcor (No. 2) – Senior – La Baule, France

Malcor played some of his best golf in the 2025 fall season. He put together top-20 finishes in all four of his starts with two top 10s, including a runner-up showing at the Cullan Brown Collegiate – the best finish of his Mississippi State career.

He averaged a score of 71.55 in the fall with seven rounds of par or better.

Dain Richie (No. 3) – Graduate – New Berlin, Ill.

Richie holds down the three spot this week. His fall campaign was highlighted by a fourth-place showing at the Cullan Brown Collegiate, firing rounds of 4-under 67 and even-par 71 en route to his best finish in the Maroon and White.

Jackson Skinner (No. 4) – Freshman – Birmingham, Ala.

Skinner makes his fifth start in his true freshman season. He began the fall with a top-30 finish at the Carmel Cup. He compiled three rounds of par or better, including an even-par 72 in his final round of the fall at the Fallen Oak Collegiate.

Drew Wilson (No. 5) – Junior – Potts Camp, Miss.

Wilson makes his third start of the 2025-26 season, coming off two solid showings in the fall.

He notched a 14th-place finish in his first appearance at the Cullan Brown, carding rounds of even-par 71 and 1-under 70. He concluded the Fallen Oak Collegiate with back-to-back rounds of 1-under 71.

Watersound Invitational Individual Lineup

Ben Kelling – Redshirt Freshman – Bad Feilnbach, Germany

Kelling will compete this week as an individual, making his third appearance in the Maroon and White.

In the fall, he tied for 44th in his first appearance at State with a second round of 1-under 71. He most recently competed at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate last week, where he placed in a tie for 16th. His opening round of 1-under 71 tied his best round at State.

Tournament Information

The Bulldogs tee off in a shotgun start at 10 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available on SCOREBOARD.

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

Mississippi State Begins Spring Season At Watersound Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Endicott

Ben Kelling

Ugo Malcor

Dain Richie

Jackson Skinner

Drew Wilson

Mississippi State University Athletics