Randolph Takes Second At Bank Of America Intercollegiate

MADISON, Miss. Freshman Jonathan Randolph of the No. 20 ranked Ole Miss men’s golf team took second at the Bank of America Intercollegiate Tuesday, finishing with a 66-69-74--209 at Reunion Golf & Country Club.  Ole Miss as a team, tied for third with an 865.

Randolph, the leader after day one, finished two shots back of medalist Zach Sucher (UAB), who shot a 9-under 209.  This marked the highest finish for Randolph in his first season.

“Jonathan has a chance to be the SEC Freshman of the Year,” assistant coach Jonathan Dismuke said.  “He played really well here.  He’s had a great year.”  Head coach Ernest Ross echoed those sentiments, saying Randolph may be the best freshman ever to play for the Rebels.

Randolph’s previous best finish was a tie for third at the Mason Rudolph Invitational in the fall.  He now has three top-five and five top-10 finishes on the year. Afterwards the Brandon native talked about his showing, which just happened to be in front of his parents and a few other hometown folks.

“It hurts a lot worse if you don’t play well and lose, but I got beat by someone who played better,” he said.  “I didn’t make as many putts today, but I did birdie the last two holes.  You never give up on a round.  I was trying to play as well as I could, but it wasn’t quite good enough.  I wish we could have won, but it was still a lot of fun.”

Tennessee-Chattanooga, ranked in the top 15 most of the year, won the team title with an 852, while LSU finished second at 856.  North Florida posted the low round (282) of the day to move up to a tie with the Rebels.  Vanderbilt finished fifth at 872.

“We need to putt better,” head coach Ernest Ross said.  “A couple of our guys are struggling with the putter.  We are pleased with our ball striking.  We are close.  It’s hard to play great every week.  We’ll get back to Oxford and try to fix it before SECs. 

“The golf course was in superb shape, and I think everyone had a great experience.  We want to thank Reunion for all their work in helping us pull this off.”

This marked the eighth top-five finish of the year for the Rebels, who will now head to Sea Island, Ga., April 18-20 for the SEC Championship. 

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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