The University of Mississippi Athletics
Birdies Fly for Rebels at SEC Championship
4/24/2019 | Men's Golf
Men’s Golf in Third Place after First Round
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Ole Miss men's golf team posted a 5-under 275 Wednesday afternoon, good enough for third place following the opening round of the 2019 SEC Championship. Recording 19 birdies on Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course, the most in the 14-team field, the Rebels sit three shots back of the lead after 18 holes.
Competing against a stacked field, Ole Miss finished day one ahead of eight teams ranked in Golfstat's top 50 national rankings. No. 13 Auburn and No. 16 Georgia fired rounds of 272 (-8) to hold the clubhouse lead, three strokes ahead of Ole Miss and Kentucky.
"I thought that was the best round of golf that I've seen our team have since I've been at Ole Miss," head coach Chris Malloy said. "We've had rounds with lower scores, but considering our start and how we looked after a couple holes to rally and do what they did is incredible. Really, I thought they turned into that tougher side, and the scores they shot were phenomenal."
"That's the sign of a good team. Anyone's good is good. What separates teams at this level is how good is your bad. I've never been more proud of our team, especially this year, than I am right now."
Making his SEC Championship debut, Jack Gnam brought his A-game. For the second consecutive tournament, the freshman began his week with a 3-under bogey-free round. With the Rebels beginning play on the back nine, he parred the first three holes before getting back-to-back birdies to fall on No. 13 and No. 14. Gnam rattled of 10 straight pars until reaching the par-5 seventh. A birdie there got him to 3-under for the day, putting him in a tie for fourth and two shots off the individual lead held by Vanderbilt's Will Gordon and Georgia's Trent Phillips at 5-under. The round of 67 bested Gnam's previous best of 69 he shot at last week's Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. The freshman didn't miss a single green, going 18/18 greens in regulation on the first day.
"Jack looked as settled and as polished as any of our guys out here," Malloy said. "It says a lot about him and where he has come. He's improved so much this year and he's ready. His time is now."
Close behind Gnam was senior Beau Briggs, who posted a 2-under 68. The Covington, Louisiana, native got off to a tough start with a double bogey on the par-4 10th. However, he responded by grinding out seven consecutive pars before making birdie on No. 18. After making the turn, Briggs posted a bogey-free final nine, making three birdies along the way to get into red figures and a tie for ninth.
No Rebel bounced back better than sophomore Cecil Wegener. After finishing runner-up in his conference tournament debut a season ago, he faced an uphill battle in the morning with back-to-back double bogeys due to lost balls on his first two holes. A bogey on No. 14 put him at 5-over through five before he showed resilience and caught fire. Wegener got the bogey at No. 14 back with a birdie at the par-5 15th. The Ridgeland, Mississippi, native began a stretch of six birdies and six pars over the next 12 holes, moving him to 1-under. Fighting back throughout the round, he ended the day with an even-par 70.
Joining Wegener at level par was freshman Jackson Suber. Coming off a second-place finish at Old Waverly last week, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week remained steady in his SEC Championship debut with 16 pars to pace the field. A birdie at No. 5 countered a bogey at No. 12 for his even-par 70, placing him in a tie for 25th alongside Wegener.
As one of the top three teams on the leaderboard, Ole Miss will tee off in the final groups off No. 1 for the second round Thursday morning. Josh Seiple will be the first Rebel on the course at 8:10 a.m. CT.
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.
T-4. Gnam: 67 (-3)
T-9. Briggs: 68 (-2)
T-25. Suber: 70 (E)
T-25. Wegener: 70 (E)
T-41. Seiple: 72 (+2)
T-1. No. 13 Auburn: 272 (-8)
T-1. No. 16 Georgia: 272 (-8)
T-3. Ole Miss: 275 (-5)
T-3. Kentucky: 275 (-5)
5. No. 4 Vanderbilt: 277 (-3)
6. No. 15 South Carolina: 279 (-1)
7. No. 22 Tennessee: 280 (E)
T-8. No. 37 Arkansas: 281 (+1)
T-8. No. 27 Texas A&M: 281 (+1)
10. No. 11 LSU: 282 (+2)
11. Missouri: 289 (+9)
12. Mississippi State: 290 (+10)
13. No. 40 Florida: 291 (+11)
14. No. 25 Alabama: 292 (+12)
Competing against a stacked field, Ole Miss finished day one ahead of eight teams ranked in Golfstat's top 50 national rankings. No. 13 Auburn and No. 16 Georgia fired rounds of 272 (-8) to hold the clubhouse lead, three strokes ahead of Ole Miss and Kentucky.
"I thought that was the best round of golf that I've seen our team have since I've been at Ole Miss," head coach Chris Malloy said. "We've had rounds with lower scores, but considering our start and how we looked after a couple holes to rally and do what they did is incredible. Really, I thought they turned into that tougher side, and the scores they shot were phenomenal."
"That's the sign of a good team. Anyone's good is good. What separates teams at this level is how good is your bad. I've never been more proud of our team, especially this year, than I am right now."
Making his SEC Championship debut, Jack Gnam brought his A-game. For the second consecutive tournament, the freshman began his week with a 3-under bogey-free round. With the Rebels beginning play on the back nine, he parred the first three holes before getting back-to-back birdies to fall on No. 13 and No. 14. Gnam rattled of 10 straight pars until reaching the par-5 seventh. A birdie there got him to 3-under for the day, putting him in a tie for fourth and two shots off the individual lead held by Vanderbilt's Will Gordon and Georgia's Trent Phillips at 5-under. The round of 67 bested Gnam's previous best of 69 he shot at last week's Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. The freshman didn't miss a single green, going 18/18 greens in regulation on the first day.
"Jack looked as settled and as polished as any of our guys out here," Malloy said. "It says a lot about him and where he has come. He's improved so much this year and he's ready. His time is now."
Close behind Gnam was senior Beau Briggs, who posted a 2-under 68. The Covington, Louisiana, native got off to a tough start with a double bogey on the par-4 10th. However, he responded by grinding out seven consecutive pars before making birdie on No. 18. After making the turn, Briggs posted a bogey-free final nine, making three birdies along the way to get into red figures and a tie for ninth.
No Rebel bounced back better than sophomore Cecil Wegener. After finishing runner-up in his conference tournament debut a season ago, he faced an uphill battle in the morning with back-to-back double bogeys due to lost balls on his first two holes. A bogey on No. 14 put him at 5-over through five before he showed resilience and caught fire. Wegener got the bogey at No. 14 back with a birdie at the par-5 15th. The Ridgeland, Mississippi, native began a stretch of six birdies and six pars over the next 12 holes, moving him to 1-under. Fighting back throughout the round, he ended the day with an even-par 70.
Joining Wegener at level par was freshman Jackson Suber. Coming off a second-place finish at Old Waverly last week, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week remained steady in his SEC Championship debut with 16 pars to pace the field. A birdie at No. 5 countered a bogey at No. 12 for his even-par 70, placing him in a tie for 25th alongside Wegener.
As one of the top three teams on the leaderboard, Ole Miss will tee off in the final groups off No. 1 for the second round Thursday morning. Josh Seiple will be the first Rebel on the course at 8:10 a.m. CT.
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.
the rebels
T-4. Gnam: 67 (-3)
T-9. Briggs: 68 (-2)
T-25. Suber: 70 (E)
T-25. Wegener: 70 (E)
T-41. Seiple: 72 (+2)
team leaderboard
T-1. No. 13 Auburn: 272 (-8)
T-1. No. 16 Georgia: 272 (-8)
T-3. Ole Miss: 275 (-5)
T-3. Kentucky: 275 (-5)
5. No. 4 Vanderbilt: 277 (-3)
6. No. 15 South Carolina: 279 (-1)
7. No. 22 Tennessee: 280 (E)
T-8. No. 37 Arkansas: 281 (+1)
T-8. No. 27 Texas A&M: 281 (+1)
10. No. 11 LSU: 282 (+2)
11. Missouri: 289 (+9)
12. Mississippi State: 290 (+10)
13. No. 40 Florida: 291 (+11)
14. No. 25 Alabama: 292 (+12)
Players Mentioned
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