Bulldogs Set To Tee Off At NCAA Championship
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State men’s golf team will tee off at the NCAA Championship for the third time in the school’s history on Wednesday, May 28. The Bulldogs will begin play from the 10th tee at 7:20 a.m. at the par 72 Kampen Course of the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.
“It is going to be a tough test for our team with patience being the key to success,” said Coach Clay Homan. “This is a course that does not allow many birdies and unless you hit the fairway off your tee shot it is going to be a tough task getting it out of the rough without a penalty. Because of that we are going to have to adjust our mindset and be prepared for fewer birdies and avoid getting down on ourselves early on.”
The Bulldog lineup will include team stroke average leader, junior Noah Goldman, whose 6-under-par 207 at the NCAA East Regional was the lowest ever scored by an MState golfer in the postseason. Junior Josh Bevell enters the Championships following his fourth top 20 finish of the season that included his low round of the year, 66 shot in round one of the East Regional. Lone senior Josh Oller enters the Championships averaging 73.03 strokes per 18 holes. Junior Matt Fast competes after notching two under-par rounds at the East Regional. Junior Carlos Sainz, Jr. rounds out the Bulldog lineup, with the Elgin, Ill.-native playing in his team-leading 13th tournament of the year.
“We are as ready as we can be as a team,” said Homan. “We are not used to these type of course conditions, so we cannot get down on ourselves early. This is a veteran group that I am confident in and the NCAA Championship is why you play college golf, so I am excited to see how we perform at this level.”
MState enters the field as one of five SEC schools to advance to the Championships, with the conference total being second to the Pac-10’s six teams advancing. The Bulldogs are following a record breaking performance at the NCAA East Regional that included the second-lowest three-round score by a Bulldog club, with 838 through 54 holes and their 278 in rounds one and three, which tied for the eighth lowest by a MSU-team for a single round, both of which were lows for an MState club in the postseason.
MSU enters the 30-team field as the 21st seed following their fourth place finish at the NCAA East Regional on May 17. All 30 teams will compete through the first three rounds, while counting the top four scores from their five-man roster each day. The final round will include the top 15-teams remaining from the previous three rounds.