Rebel Golfers Aiming For Toledo

When head coach Ernest Ross returned to his alma mater in 2004, he set out to steer the program back to the pinnacle of college golf. One can safely say Ole Miss is heading in the right direction after back-to-back NCAA regional appearances. This year the team wants to steer it North towards Ohio, site of the NCAA Championships.

Back to lead the way in 2008-09 is one of the top golfers in the SEC last year in senior Jesse Speirs. The Bangor, Maine native made an immediate impact for the Rebels in his first season after transferring from TCU. He earned All-SEC second team honors and helped lead Ole Miss to the NCAA East Regional.

Playing in every tournament last year, Speirs posted three top-five, six top 10 and seven top 20 finishes. He finished second on the team with a 72.41 stroke average and helped lead the Rebels to four tournament titles, tying for the second most in school history.

On the heels of last year's success, much was expected of Speirs by everyone associated with the program. This fall he played in four tournaments and tied for fourth at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate. Ross doesn't downplay the importance of having Speirs play well in the spring if the Rebels are going to accomplish their goals.

"Jesse didn't have his best fall season," Ross said. "He was close to the lead in several tournaments, but for various reasons didn't complete the task. I believe Jesse is getting some issues ironed out in his golf swing. I know he will have a good spring. He is a much better putter than last year. He recognized it was a weakness, and he conquered a weakness. I feel sure he is in the process of correcting some ball-striking issues."

Also returning for the Rebels is sophomore Jonathan Randolph, who had an excellent debut as a freshman in 2007-08. The Mississippi product played in all 13 events and was one of the top freshmen in the SEC, earning All-SEC Freshman honors. Randolph finished third on the team with a 73.00 stroke average and posted two top-five, four top-10 and four top-20 finishes. In his own backyard, he finished second at the Bank of America Intercollegiate at Reunion Country Club in Madison, Miss.

Randolph continued his success over to the summer where he took second at the Mississippi State Amateur before having to shut it down due to an injury. He played in three tournaments in the fall and tied for ninth at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.

"Jonathan suffered a partially-torn intercostal muscle in his rib cage this summer, and this injury is very slow to heal," Ross said. "He was still feeling the effects of the injury in the early fall tournaments. He should be 100 percent in the spring and ready to return to his outstanding play of last year."

Junior Will Roebuck posted seven top 10 finishes as a sophomore in 2006-07 and finished third on the team in stroke average. He was expected to be one of the Rebels' top returning golfers last year, but an injury sidelined him.

Roebuck advanced to the final stage of U.S. Open Qualifying last summer and this past fall he played in four tournaments and tied for fourth at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate.

"Will has a great short game, but he really struggled this fall with the driver," Ross said. "We worked late in the fall on some corrections, and also getting clear about what his real swing keys need to be. If Will can improve his ball-striking, he can be one of the top players in the SEC."

Senior Stefan Strandlund has waited a long time to get on the course for the Rebels. In his first year on the team (2006-07) he did not play in any tournaments while suffering from a nagging wrist injury. Last year a bout with mononucleosis sidelined him, and once again, he did not compete in any tournaments for the team.

The Sweden native competed in every tournament in the fall and earned his first top-five finish at Ole Miss with a tie for fifth at the rain-shortened Memphis Intercollegiate. He also tied for 13th at the Carpet Capital Collegiate to open the fall campaign.

"I was pleasantly surprised by Stefan this past fall," Ross said. "He played really well, and helped our team immensely. He is a very consistent ball-striker and a hard-working leader on our team. He sets a good example for our team members-he does the right things every day. Stefan can be a real asset to our program this spring."

The Rebels welcomed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation in freshmen Sean Dale and Joe David. Both came in with high credentials, and neither disappointed in the fall.

Dale ranked in the top five nationally his senior year and was an AJGA second team All-American. He finished runner-up at the AJGA Polo Golf Championship.

David won the Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award. He tied for 1st at the 2008 Tennessee State Amateur, before losing in a playoff, and was the 2006 and 2007 Tennessee Boys Junior Champion.

Both made an immediate impact in the fall, ranking as the fourth best freshman class by Golfstat. David played in all five tournaments and led the team with a 72.64 stroke average. He posted two top-five finishes. Dale finished second on the team with a 72.90 stroke average while posting one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

"We believed we had two great players in Sean and Joe," Ross said. "But you never really know how freshmen will adjust to college life. Some make the transition seamlessly, while others struggle moving up to a higher level of tournament golf. Joe and Sean have played great this fall. I see real greatness in their future.

"Joe is a very long hitter, but he also is a very solid ball-striker. He always makes good contact. He is adjusting to courses with bigger, faster greens with more contours. He prepares like a future champion. Sean is probably the best putter on our team. When he is on, he can make birdies in bunches. He is learning to minimize his mistakes, partly by picking better targets on the course. I believe he will have a very good spring semester."

With the rise of the program, the Rebels are starting to get invited to some elite tournaments. They began the fall at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, where they tied for eighth. Among the 18-team field, 15 teams were ranked in the preseason top 30.

The Rebels finished second at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, third at the Squire Creek Invitational and then concluded the fall with a fifth place showing at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.

The spring schedule includes familiar stops at the Gator Invitational (Feb. 14-15), the Rio Pinar Intercollegiate (Feb. 23-24) and the Seminole Intercollegiate (March 6-8). Also new to the schedule, is the Chris Schenkel Invitational (March 20-22), another highly touted field.

The Rebels will once again host the Bank of America Intercollegiate (April 6-7) at Reunion Golf and Country Club in Madison. The tournament will feature a strong regional field with six SEC teams, including Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

"When I first came back to Ole Miss, it was hard to get into the top tournaments," Ross said. "Little by little, we have improved our play and earned respect from other programs. We are now getting into the top tournaments in the nation. Our players are getting accustomed to playing against the best players in around the country all the time."

The SEC Championship (April 17-19) returns to St. Simon's Island for the ninth year in a row with the Frederica Golf Club playing host to the event for the second straight year.

This year's NCAA Championships will feature a different format as adopted by the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee in July of 2008.

Instead of cutting the field to 15 teams after 54 holes and crowning both an individual champion and team champion after 72 holes of stroke play as has been the case previously, the NCAA Individual Champion will be determined following the conclusion of 54 holes of stroke play with the top eight teams advancing to a single-elimination match play tournament.

Looking to create more appeal for television coverage, the team with the lowest score after three rounds of competition will play the team with the eighth-lowest score and so on until a team champion is crowned.

Regional play will change as well. Three regions will expand to six regions to create more postseason opportunities for programs nationwide. In the past, 81 teams were selected to compete in three regions. The top 10 teams in each region advanced to the NCAA Championships. This year a total of 84 teams will qualify for regional play with the top six teams from each region advancing to the 36-team field at the national championships.

This year's NCAA Championships will be held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio from May 27-30.

"I am really excited about the new format," Ross said. "It should lend itself to drama that may make college golf more marketable to TV. Since we don't play many match play tournaments, it will be a new experience for many players. Our goal is to get to Finals, advance to match play, and then have fun. I believe our team has the talent to go a long way."

The Rebels hope that with a blend of experience and young talent they will be one of 36 teams making reservations for Toledo at the end of the year.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos