The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Shoal Creek Invitational
Thornberry Comes Out on Top at Shoal Creek Intercollegiate
9/26/2017 | Men's Golf
Team Results 
| Individual Results
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Defending national champion Braden Thornberry turned in a 9-under par (71-66-70-207) performance to secure the first victory of the 2017-18 season at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate. With his eighth career victory, Thornberry passed Dave Peege for the most individual tournament titles in Ole Miss Men's Golf history.
The team tournament title was taken by Wake Forest after posting a score of 849, but Thornberry's victory led the Rebels to a climb the leaderboard, eventually anchoring a fourth-place finish (296-280-288-864). Out of the gate yesterday, Ole Miss struggled to get in a rhythm but after turning in a 296 (+8), responded in the second half of the day by flipping the score to shoot a 280 (-8). The Rebels added an even-par round of 288 today. This set Ole Miss up to finish with 52 birdies, the second most in the field.
"I am very proud of the way the team finished their round today. We struggled again midway through the day, but managed to get some birdies coming in to jump up a few spots on the leaderboard," head coach Chris Malloy said. "Although we didn't have our best stuff this week, it was great to see our guys battle and get what they could out of their rounds. Braden certainly started the year off right. This is only the beginning of what should be a very special year for him."
Thornberry's success stemmed from his second round where he carded eight birdies resulting in a 66 (-6), two strokes above his career best. This allowed him to claim medalist honors just one stroke ahead of Wake Forest's senior Paul McBride, a Walker Cup participant, and two ahead of William Walker III and R.J. Keur of UAB.
"I didn't have my best stuff this week, but I am proud of the way I was able to manage my game and still keep myself in the mix," Thornberry said. "To win the first tournament of the year, individually, is a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the tournaments this fall."
Matching his second-round score, junior Josh Seiple worked an even-par 72 to finish the tournament in a three-way tie for 11th place with Archer Price of Georgia Southern and Gabe Lench of Liberty. This marked the fourth top-20 finish of his career. Fellow junior, Beau Briggs checked in behind Seiple in a six-way tie for 23rd after working a career-best 69 (-3) in Round 2, a result of six birdies.
Senior Kerry Sweeney and newcomer Ben Reichert both posted identical scores of 79 (+1) in the first round and 73 (+1) in the second, and while both posted four birdies in the final round, Sweeny separated himself to end the day 1-under (71) for a T37 place finish.
Ole Miss' younger classmen, sophomore Chip Getz and freshman Cecil Wegener, competed as individuals. Wegener's first collegiate tournament ended in a five-way tie for 32nd (73-74-75-222) and Getz (76-77-77-230) followed in a two-way tie for 61st.
The Rebels continue to hit this road this week as they head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to compete in the Marquette Invitational Oct. 1-2 located at Erin Hills, the site of the 2017 U.S. Open.
For all Ole Miss Men's Golf news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf, on Instagram at OleMissMGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Golf.
Ole Miss Individuals
1. Braden Thornberry: 71-66-70-207
T11. Josh Seiple: 71-72-72-215
T23. Beau Briggs: 75-69-75--219
T37. Kerry Sweeney: 79-73-71--223
T53. Ben Reichert: 79-73-79-231
*T32. Cecil Wegener: 73-74-75--222
*T61. Chip Getz: 76-77-77--230
*Competing as individuals
Team Standings
1. Wake Forest: 285-282-282-849
2. Liberty: 282-291-289-862
3. North Florida: 290-289-284-863
4. Ole Miss: 296-280-288-864
5. Georgia Southern: 295-283-287-865
6. Notre Dame: 285-286-298-869
7. UAB: 287-285-298-870
8. Kennesaw State: 295-285-295-875
9. Memphis: 301-281-296-878
10. Chattanooga: 289-297-297-883
11. Troy: 293-299-300-892
12. South Alabama: 306-294-302-902
Players Mentioned
