COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – Sophomore Braden Thornberry broke the tournament record to help lead the Ole Miss men’s golf team to a first-place finish at the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove Tuesday.
The Olive Branch native chipped in a birdie on the final hole to finish the day with a 1-under-par 71 and posted a tournament-record, 5-under-211 en route to medalist honors. Thornberry picked up the third career victory and has two top-5 finishes in two starts on the season.
“Braden is off to a very impressive start this season,” Ole Miss Head Coach Chris Malloy said after his second tournament title with the Rebels. “He showed again this week that he is becoming one of the elite players in the entire country.”
The Rebels earned their first tournament title of the season as they outlasted College of Charleston down the stretch. Ole Miss cleared second-place No. 49 Kennesaw State by five strokes and would go on to beat three other ranked opponents, including 2016 SEC Champions No. 3 Georgia.
“I’m so proud of our guys for the way they battled down the stretch today,” Malloy said. “We got off to a great start and then stumbled a bit. However, instead of giving in, they showed so much poise and played their best golf down the stretch.”
Senior Ben Wolcott helped seal the victory by birding three of his final four holes to finish in a tie fourth place. The Dickson, Tennessee native reached a milestone with his 15th career top-20 finish after a three-round total of even-par 216. Junior Kerry Sweeney earned his first top-10 finish as a Rebel by rolling in four birdies in the final round en route to a 2-over-74 in the final round. The Melbourne, Florida native highlighted his outing in the second round with a 3-under-69 with finish with a 1-over-217.
Senior Noah West finished first among players competing as individuals thanks to a final round score of 4-under-par 68. The Tupelo native rolled in seven birdies to climb 42 spots on the leaderboard. Sophomore Josh Seiple started with three birdies in a row and birdied his final hole to finish the final round at even-par 72 and tied for 52nd in the tournament. Freshman Brody Blackmon birdied twice on the back nine to finish 5-over-77 on the day and in a tie for 62nd.
“Today was a great day for our program and where are headed,” said Malloy. “This is just the beginning!”
The Rebels tee off next at the Marquette Intercollegiate Oct. 2.
