FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following a difficult start to the day, Mississippi State men’s golf rebounded with a strong showing on the front nine holes at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational to finish the first round at an even par and second in the field.
MSU trails host Arkansas (-9) but holds a five-stroke advantage over Kentucky in third.
Teeing off from the No. 10 tee, the back nine challenged the Bulldogs. After starting out at 9-over as a team in its first nine holes, State bounced back with 12 birdies on the front nine to return to even par. Overall, MSU shot an even 288 over the 18 holes of action. The team’s 9-under performance through Holes 1-9 marked its lowest to-par total over nine holes this season.
“We did a really good job of hanging in there today,” head coach Dusty Smith said. “This golf course demands your best on every shot, and I thought we really focused well out there. Tomorrow will be another great opportunity for us to take the momentum we gained today into the second round.”
Individually, the Bulldogs were paced by Josep Serra for the second straight round. The junior went bogey-free over the final nine holes to finish with a 1-under 71 for the day. Serra now sits tied for sixth place, just three strokes back from the individual lead, and he’s now recorded three consecutive rounds under par.
After not making the lineup at SEC Match Play, Pedro Cruz Silva and Harrison Davis both returned to the lineup with par performances. Cruz Silva led the field for most of the first round and birdied Holes 3-5 to get to 4-under on the day. However, he carded two double-bogeys on the final four tees to land in eighth place. Davis birded a season-high four holes on the way to his lowest to-par round this season. He is also tied for eighth place.
Hunter Logan also landed among the top 15 after one round. He’s tied for 14th after shooting 1-over on the challenging course. After going 3-over midway through the round, he birdied three holes on the front nine to pull back into contention.
The Bulldogs will get a later start on Tuesday, teeing off at 11 a.m. CT. That will put them on pace to play a majority of their round within the televised window on the GOLF Channel beginning at 3:30 p.m. Only MSU’s final hole was broadcast on Monday. State will open the day on the front nine…
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