The Mississippi State men’s golf team took another step in its quest to return to nationals for the first time since 2008 after a strong finish in the first spring tournament of the season this past weekend in the Gator Invitational.
The goal in collegiate golf is to finish in the top 65 and have a winning percentage of .500 or better. Accomplishing this will allow State an opportunity to qualify for one of the final 81 spots in the NCAA tournament and to compete for a national championship. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 52 in the nation according to Golfstats and have a record of 32-28-2, following four tournaments played this past fall and the most recent ninth-place finish in Gainesville, Fla. The Bulldogs find themselves in a good position to make a final push with five events remaining this season. The men’s golf team has finished in the top 10 in all five events thus far and has achieved this while currently having a strength of schedule that ranks No. 27 in the nation.
The Bulldogs also had three of its five golfers place in the Top 23 in the Gator Invite and have momentum heading into their next tournament taking place on Monday and Tuesday at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in  Alabama.
The team currently has 12 members who compete weekly among each other in order to be one of the five chosen to play in future tournaments. The five that qualify normally changes week to week and is based on how well each does in practice and in prior tournaments, head coach Clay Homan said.
“I want to take the five that are going to give us the best opportunity to win that week,” Homan said.
The only constants so far have been sophomore Chad Ramey and senior Alex Rowland who have competed in all five tournaments this season.
Homan said although the team has had great individual achievements, all five members of the team that qualify to compete need to be able to perform well before they can win any tournaments or consider themselves a national championship contender.
“We had positive things we can build on, but in order to put ourselves into contention we need consistency throughout the line-up,” he said.
Finding a team that can contribute consistent play has been an issue and is vital in order for this team to succeed. State has competed in five tournaments and has had five different line-ups.
There have been positive performances by several players, but one player Homan said he would like to see back on the course in action is freshman Fletcher Johnson. Johnson is ranked No. 93 in the nation but has only participated in two events this year and shot a 1-over-par in both. However, Homan said he needs to work out some kinks in his game before he can put him back out there.
“He has ability, and it is key to getting him back to form, but his game is not where it needs to be at the moment,” he said.
The golf team has also had problems putting three consistently good rounds together. According to Homan it has been a combination of periods of poor course management and an inconsistent short game. Rowland said the team is trying to address the problems and improve in certain areas of their game.
“What we need to do better is to put three rounds together,” Rowland said. “Across the board, it’s short game and putting, but for me it’s hitting greens in regulation.”
Closing out holes is certainly a concern for the Bulldogs and is an area in which the team has room for improvement, he said.
“Where I see we can make the most improvement immediately is not throwing shots away around the green,” he said.