BULLDOG BITS
Men’s Golf
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – The No. 24 Mississippi State men's golf team finished the Watersound Invitational in fifth place, shooting 4-under as a team for the day and 7-under for the tournament. With a team score of 857, the Bulldogs shot their second-lowest team total of the year. The five Bulldogs in the lineup carded 21 birdies in the final round.
"It was a solid week overall with it being our first event out of the off-season," MSU head coach Dusty Smith said. "I really like how the team competed this week. I'm really proud of Garrett Endicott playing us a big round today when we needed it."
Endicott finished the tournament in 13th and shot 5-under through 54 holes. He sank three of his four birdies on the front nine and went bogey-free after the turn, firing a score of 3-under 69 for the day. Endicott's finish marks his third top-20 finish in five career tournaments.
Austin Vukovits finished 27th, carding five birdies for the day. He shot 2-under through three rounds, totaling 11 birdies and shooting an eagle in the second round. Hunter Logan was right behind him in a tie for 28th after shooting 71, his best round of the tournament, on the last 18 holes. He carded five birdies in the round and 12 for the tournament.
Ford Clegg tied for 36th with Oklahoma State's Jonas Baumgartner, making a 20-spot jump from his first round finish. Ruan Pretorius made a three-spot jump on the final day to tie for 41st. He shot even in the third round and made four birdies in all three rounds.
Harrison Davis, playing as an individual, finished in a three-way tie for 46th. MSU will return to play at the Desert Mountain Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 4th.
"We are far from a finished product and need to make sure we continue the climb every single day," Smith added. "We have about a week to clean some things up and then get after it in the desert."
Women’s Golf
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The sixth-ranked Mississippi State women's golf squad opened up the first two rounds of The Show on Monday. After 36 holes, State is in the lead shooting 569 (7-under par) as a team and currently one stroke ahead of host UNLV (6-under par).
The Bulldogs held strong throughout the first two rounds of play from the Spanish Trail Country Club behind some stellar performances up and down the scorecard to sit in second place throughout the morning and afternoon. The Bulldogs used a late-round surge from the senior/freshman duo of Hannah Levi and Izzy Pellot to propel up the leaderboard to take the lead just before dusk overfell Las Vegas on Monday night.
Levi used a stellar second round to help State mount a valiant effort late in the evening. Levi birdied three of the last four holes to secure her seventh round in the 60s as a Bulldog carding 69 (3-under par). Levi
is tied for fourth shooting 141 through 36 holes.
Reigning Southestern Conference Freshman of the Week Izzy Pellot picked up where she left off in the UCF Challenge, picking up back-to-back rounds of par or better to open The Show. Pellot led the Bulldogs throughout the day, remaining in the top five throughout the day, rolling in seven birdies. After two rounds, Pellot is tied for fourth shooting 3-under par (141).
Surapa Janthamunee played very well throughout the first day of The Show, recording back to back rounds of par or better golf once again in her freshman campaign, Janthamunee, nicknamed SJ, rolled in seven birdies throughout the day, including four in the first round to finish tied for 11th with 1-under par (143).
Reigning SEC Golfer of the Week Julia Lopez Ramirez carded 73 (1-over) in back-to-back rounds to finish tied for 22nd with 2-over par (146).
After a tough opening round, Abbey Daniel used a strong second of under-par golf (71) to skyrocket up the leaderboard 32 spots to finish tied for 33rd (4-over, 148).
Competing individually, Jarutrawee Khotchagrai is tied for 56th shooting 7-over par (151).