Ole Miss men’s golf climbs to first place at The Grove
Published 8:30 pm Monday, September 19, 2016
COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. — Three Rebels found the top-five to propel the Ole Miss men’s golf team to first place at the FAMC Intercollegiate at The Grove Monday.
Sophomore Braden Thornberry and junior Kerry Sweeney combined for seven birdies and only one bogie to post a pair of 3-under par 69s, the second-lowest scores of the tournament through two rounds. Thornberry moved into sole possession of the lead thanks to his tournament-high eight birides, and looks for his third career medalist honors. Sweeney climbed 26 sports up the leaderboard into tie for fifth place. The Melbourne, Florida native is tied for first in the field on par-5s at 4-under.
“I was extremely impressed with our team’s performance today,” said Ole Miss head coach Chris Malloy. “We had three guys go out and lead the way and really set the tone for the day. Anytime that you have three guys in the top five of the individual standings you are going to be in good shape as a team. I know that they are looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and picking up where they left off today.”
Senior Ben Wolcott continued his consistent play with a 1-under par 71 in the second round. The Dickson, Tennessee native is tied for fourth with Sweeney and is seeking his 15th top-20 finish of his career. He leads the field on scores on par-4s at 4-under.
Ole Miss combined for a 2-under par 286, the lowest score of the tournament through two rounds and the only combined score under par. The Rebels lead second-place College of Charleston by two strokes and are ahead of four ranked teams, including No. 3 Georgia and No. 40 North Carolina State.
Freshman Brody Blackmon is tied for 57th at 8-over 152, while sophomore Josh Seiple is tied for 71st place. Senior Noah West is 10-over through two rounds and tied for 66th.