VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. – The Ole Miss men’s golf team wrapped up day one of SEC Match Play after shooting a team score of 550 (-10) and sitting tied for seventh place with in-state rival Mississippi State.
The Rebels put up an overall 44 birdies, 24 in the second round, to help contribute to their 10-under par performance. Ole Miss started out the day with a 2-over first round score but rallied back to rise three spots on the leaderboard. Ole Miss’ second round score of 12-under was led by freshman Cameron Tankersley who went 7-under par in the back half of the day.
Ole Miss will have three players in the top-20 heading into its final round of stroke play.
“I was really proud of the way this group battled back in their second round today,” said the head coach Chris Malloy. “We really played okay in the first round but had a very poor finish. If we can do a little better job closing out our rounds tomorrow, we will make a big push up the leaderboard.”
“Cam was our bright spot for sure. Any time you have a freshman shoot 63, you feel good as a coach. Between him and Tom [Fischer], we had a 10-under par round from true freshmen. The future is very bright for this squad.”
Tankersley came back from his first round score of 74 (+4) by making eight birdies in the second round to rise an astonishing 43 spots on the leaderboard and clinch a top-20 placement heading into the final round. Tankersley went bogey-free for 12 consecutive holes during his second round and is currently tied for the most birdies made among the field with 13.
Fischer was right behind him as he pumped the gas in his second round by snagging three birdies and an eagle to give him a 3-under score after shooting even par in the first round.
Grad transfer Hugo Townsend held true with Fischer as he also completed an even par first round followed by a three-under second round. Townsend went bogey-free for 12 straight holes in the second round while also making five birdies to raise him 12 spots on the leaderboard.
Sarut Vongchaisit completed a first round score of 69 (-1) with five birdies but was unable to hold his momentum in the second round. Vongchaisit will head into the final round of stroke play tied for 51st at 2-over. Jack Gnam rounds out scoring for the Rebels with an overall 4-over score after day one of stroke play.
Ole Miss will tee off beginning at 8:00 am on Hole 1 on Monday to compete in the final round of stroke play. The top two qualifiers from stroke play will face off against each other in match play, while the 12 remaining teams will compete in an SEC East vs. West match played on Tuesday.
For updates throughout the tournament, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Golf and on OleMissSports.com.
THE REBELS
T19. Cameron Tankersley: 74-63—137 (-3)
T19. Tom Fischer: 70-67—137 (-3)
T19. Hugo Townsend: 70-67—137 (-3)
T51. Sarut Vongchaisit: 69-73—142 (+2)
T61. Jack Gnam: 73-71—144 (+4)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Vanderbilt: 263-265—528 (-32)
2. Auburn: 267-269—536 (-24)
3. Tennessee: 268-269—537 (-23)
4. Georgia: 284-263—547 (-13)
T5. Texas A&M: 280-269—549 (-11)
T5. LSU: 285-264—549 (-11)
T7. Mississippi State: 276-274—550 (-10)
T7. Ole Miss: 282-268—550 (-10)
T9. Alabama: 274-277—551 (-9)
T9. Florida: 277-274—551 (-9)
T11. Arkansas: 286-271—557 (-3)
T11. Missouri: 281-276—557 (-3)
13. South Carolina: 279-283—562 (+2)
14. Kentucky: 284-284—568 (+8)