The Ole Miss men’s golf team traveled to the historic Erin Hills golf course to play in the Marquette Intercollegiate, the second stop on the team’s stretch of three straight weeks in action on the road. The Rebels faced some rainy and chilly conditions on the first two days, before firing an impressive final-round 277(-11) to finish fourth.
Battling the weather, the Rebels shot an opening-round 290(+2), only four shots back from the lead. Ole Miss earned three subpar rounds, with sophomore Cecil Wegener and senior Josh Seiple both shooting a 70(-2) and senior Braden Thornberry opening with a 71(-1). Freshman Jackson Suber shot a 72(E), while freshman Jack Gnam and redshirt freshman Charlie Miller both struggled with the rainy conditions, shooting a 77(+5) and 79(+7), respectively.
Ole Miss Men’s Golf vs Florida in match play at the 2018 SEC Golf Championships in Sea Island, Georgia. Josh Seiple, Castle Rock, Colo.
Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
“We were close to putting together a good team score today. Unfortunately, we were one score shy,” head coach Chris Malloy told olemisssports.com, following the first round.
The conditions were even tougher on day two, leading to high scores from all of the teams. Ole Miss shot a second-round 304(+16), bringing its two-day total to 594(+18), 16 shots back from the tournament lead. Seiple fired the lowest round of the day for the Rebels, with a second-round 72(E). Seiple was ranked fourth as an individual after two rounds.
“Today was all about being tough and handling the wind and rain on a challenging course,” Malloy told olemisssports.com, following the second round.
Ole Miss rebounded in round three, firing a final-round 277(-11), which was tied for the second-best round of the day. Miller and Thornberry led the charge, scoring a 67(-5) and 68(-4), respectively. Gnam also had a solid round, shooting a final-round 70(-2). Wegener shot a 72(E), and Suber shot a 75(+3).
The Rebels finished the tournament with a three-day total of 871(+7), finishing in fourth place. Ole Miss had three top-10 finishers. Seiple finished solo fourth, with a three-day total of 213(-3). Braden Thornberry finished T5 after shooting a 214(-2). Thornberry made more history this week with his 27th career top-10 finish, passing Darren Cole for the most in Ole Miss Men’s Golf history. Wegener rounded out the Rebels’ top finishers, coming in T10 with a 217(+1).
Ole Miss will be back in action next week, traveling to Nashville to play in the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate from Oct. 7-9. Following that tournament, the Rebels will be off for three weeks, before wrapping up the fall portion of the schedule from Oct. 28-30 at the Warrior Princeville Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii.
