Ole Miss Golf Ends Season In NCAA East Regional

ALPHARETTA, Ga. The Ole Miss men’s golfers ended their season Saturday in the final round of the NCAA East Regional with a 297, as the team failed to advance to the NCAA Finals.          

The Rebels dug themselves too big a hole after an opening-round 309.  They came back to shoot 297-297 for a total of 903 and a 17th place finish.

“I was pleased with our guys' effort,” head coach Ernest Ross said.  “I know they wanted to play great.  I was encouraged when we made the turn much better.  It’s disappointing that we couldn’t hold on to what he had going.   We tried too hard.  For some of these guys, it was their last college round and they wanted to play good.  We just put too much pressure on ourselves.”

Will Roebuck turned in the round of the tournament for the Rebels, firing a 1-under par 71 on the final day to finish with a 225.  He rebounded nicely after an opening round 80, to shoot 74 on the second day.    In the final round, he carded three birdies and one double-bogey.   Roebuck birdied three of the four par-5s and afterwards talked about the experience of being here for the first time.

“We’ll all look at this as a good experience,” Roebuck said.  “It would have been nice to contend in the tournament or at least get through to the next round.  We had a good enough team to make it to the next round.”

Even though they did not advance to the final round, the Rebels experienced a great season, qualifying for an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2001 and earning their highest finish (fourth) at the SEC Championships since 1988.

“We’ll look back on this season as a great year,” Ross said.  “We did something we’ve been trying to do for three years (get to NCAAs).  This will give us more experience for next year when we get back here.  I can’t say enough about the contributions of Chris (Rogers), Brice (Bailey) and Callum (Macaulay).  They didn’t go out with the round they would have liked to, but their play all season is what got us here.”

Rogers finished with a 74 as did junior David Marino.  Macaulay and Bailey carded 79 and 78 respectively. 

Ross talked about the future of Ole Miss golf, as they expect to be on this stage every year.

“The future looks great,” he said.  “To get to the NCAA Finals, you have to come through here.  It’s hard to come for the first time and play well.  There are expectations and more nervousness.  Next year because of this experience, we’ll play better.”

Roebuck echoed those sentiments.

“We have me and David coming back and Kyle (Ellis) who redshirted, plus some great recruits.  I think we’ll have a stronger team next year.  This was the best golf tournament of the year in terms of the field and how you are treated.

“It was good competing against these teams and beating some of them at the SECs, but to do it on a consistent basis we all need to get a lot better.  I want to be competing for a national championship by the time I graduate.”

The top 10 teams and two individuals on teams not advancing moved on to the Finals in Williamsburg, Va.  Georgia won the tournament going away with a 9-under 855.  Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech tied for second at 867.  Florida State finished fifth at 873.  Duke, Charlotte, North Carolina and Georgia State also advanced.  Clemson and Coastal Carolina were in a playoff to decide the final spot.

OLE MISS RESULTS

T50. David Marino                             75-75-74224

T56. Will Roebuck                              80-74-71225

T66. Chris Rogers                               76-76-74226

T90. Callum Macaulay                        79-72-79230

T115. Brice Bailey                               79-79-78236

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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