WEST POINT, Miss. — Senior Blake Morris fired back-to-back rounds of 4-under 68 Tuesday to jump up the leaderboard at the Old Waverly Invitational and help lead Ole Miss to a top-three team finish at the Old Waverly Golf Club.
The Waterbury, Connecticut native entered the day tied for seventh and finished his weather-delayed second round Tuesday morning with a 4-under par 68 that included five birdies after posting a 2-under 70 in the opening round Monday. Morris followed with six more birdies in the afternoon en route to another 68 and -10 for the tournament. He finished runner-up to Casey Fernandez, of Southern Miss, who shot a 66 in the final round and finished at -11. It was Morris ninth career top-five finish and his best since winning the Shoal Creek Invitational last season.
Ole Miss finished the tournament in third place with a team score of 8-under par 851 just six shots behind winner UAB and five shots back of Florida. Host Mississippi State finished fourth 11 shots back of the Rebels.
“We had a great week as a team for sure,” said Ole Miss head coach Chris Malloy. “Unfortunately, we didn’t finish the way that we would have liked, but there were many positives to take away from the week. Blake played great and gave himself an opportunity to win this tournament. I know that he has his game peaking as we head into the post season.”
Sophomore Bel Wolcott turned in a 2-under 70 in the completion of his second round in the morning and followed that up with a 3-under par 69 in the afternoon to finish in a tie for fifth at -6. It marked his first career top-five finish after posting a 1-under par 71 in the opening round Monday. Fellow sophomore Noah West posted back-to-back rounds of 2-over 74 after an opening round of even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 30th.
Freshman Josh Seiple finished in a tie for 36th after carding a 73 and a 75 Tuesday to go with his opening round of 73. Junior Forrest Gamble finished tied for 65th after rounds of 73 and 78 Tuesday. Senior Joe Lewis who was competing as an individual, tied for 50th with a three-round total of 224.
Next up, Ole Miss will travel to Amherst, Virginia for the Liberty Spring Invitational hosted at the Poplar Grove Golf Club April 10-11.
