The Gazebo Gazette

BROOKHAVEN (GG) — No. 4 Mississippi Gulf Coast won the MACCC Championship for the fourth straight season Tuesday, sprinting away down the back nine for a 13-shot win over upset-minded Jones in Brookhaven.

The Bulldogs trailed by two early on the back nine before hitting their stride to claim the 17th conference title and 12th since 2008. They finished the 36-hole tournament at 8-under, with seventh-ranked Meridian finishing third at 8-over.

Gulf Coast’s Logan Jensen (Fr., Diamondhead) edged teammate Paul Hoefer by one shot for the Tommy Snell Award, given to the championship’s medalist.

“We played pretty well, even if we didn’t get off to as good a start as Jones did,” Bulldogs coach Brad Thornton said. “I thought we were playing well for the most part. Our depth really showed today, and I thought we would be able to take control late as long as we hung around.”

Gulf Coast was the only team to break par in a round, and the squad did it twice. The four counting-score Bulldogs made 13 birdies on the back nine to stage a 15-shot turnaround on the Bobcats.

After making the turn at 1-over for the second round, Jensen poured in five birdies in the next seven holes. He shot 67 and finished at 4-under, becoming the third Bulldog player to win an event this year.

“This is what I’ve been striving for for a very long time, so it’s nice,” he said. “It was just taking my time in spots where I’ve tended to rush. I tried to sit back and let things play out.”

Hoefer, who also shot 67, and Cal Wier had three birdies each down the stretch. Wier shot 69 to join Jensen and Hoefer on the All-Tournament Team by shooting 1-under.

Matthew Bond (Fr., Mississippi Gulf Coast) shot 1-over for the final counting score to finish 15th.

Jayden Owensby won the Hubert Tucker Award for having the lowest stroke average in MACCC play and a spot on the All-MACCC First Team. He was joined on the first team by Hoefer, with Jensen, Wier and Bond earning Second Team honors.

The Gulf South District Tournament will be played April 27-29 in Brandon. Joining Gulf Coast, Jones and Meridian will be East Central, host Hinds and Northeast Mississippi. Six individuals from teams that didn’t qualify will also play at Castlewoods Country Club.

The Bulldogs will continue working on improvements in the intervening weeks.

“This team does a good job of doing that on their own with their preparation,” Thornton said. “At the end of the day, these guys know this program is the standard of the conference and the district. You’ve gotta put the work in, and it’s not just gonna continue to happen. We know we’re getting everybody’s best shot.”

Team Scores

Team                                 Score

  1. Gulf Coast                       278-274—552 (-8)
  2. Jones                           280-285—565 (+5)
  3. Meridian                        283-285—568 (+8)
  4. East Central                     285-297—582 (+22)
  5. Hinds                           285-300—585 (+25)
  6. Northeast Mississippi        304-283—587 (+27)
  7. Pearl River                       299-298—597 (+37)

T8. Copiah-Lincoln              297-304—601 (+41)

T8. Itawamba                      295-306—601 (+41)

  1. Northwest Mississippi     304-299—603 (+43)
  2. East Mississippi              307-306—613 (+53)
  3. Southwest Mississippi     315-318—633 (+73)

MGCCC Scores

Player                                Score

  1. Logan Jensen                   69-67—136 (-4)
  2. Paul Hoefer                      70-67—137 (-3)

T4. Cal Wier                        70-69—139 (-1)

  1. Matthew Bond                73-71—144 (+4)

T16. Jayden Owensby           69-76—145 (+5)

For more information on MGCCC’s 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.