The Mississippi State men’s golf team captured third place this past week at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate in Choudrant, La. The third-place finish was the best this season for State. The Bulldogs shot a season best 865 and were guided by two freshmen that finished in the top 10.
Noah Goldman, a native of Longwood, Fla., paced the Bulldogs with a 213 and finished in a tie for fifth in the individual race. Fellow freshman Carlos Sainz Jr. finished two strokes back of Goldman, which was good enough for a tie for 10th.
Junior Josh Oller had his best tournament of the fall season, shooting a 218 and finished in a tie for 19th. Sophomore Michael Knight finished in a tie for 20th after shooting a 222, and Logan Young rounded out the scoring for State with a 235.
“The brightest spot for us right now is probably our freshmen (Carlos) Sainz Jr. and (Noah) Goldman,” head coach Clay Homan said. “Carlos has finished in the top 20 in every tournament, and Noah is starting to come on strong after finishing in the top 20 the last two tournaments. We need some other guys to step it up and become more consistent.”
Ole Miss came away with the team title after shooting an 855 while Texas-Arlington’s Zack Reeves won individual honors in a four-hole playoff with two other competitors.
Sainz Jr. currently leads all Bulldogs in stroke average with a 71.80 mark. The Bulldogs are averaging a 291 stroke average for 18 holes and are averaging an 875 for 54 holes.
“It was good that we didn’t have to take any high scores this past tournament but in order to win a tournament we are going to have to have some scores in the 60’s,” Homan said.
MSU will conclude its fall slate on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at the Tunica National Intercollegiate in Tunica. The event was originally scheduled to be played in Baton Rouge, La., but was moved due to a lack of hotel rooms.