No. 22 Mississippi State Secures Team And Individual Wins

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The No. 22 Mississippi State men’s golf team and Ruan Pretorius claimed team and individual championships at the Desert Mountain Invitational on Sunday. The Bulldogs secured their second win of the season and Pretorius notched his first win in the Maroon and White. 

𝓣𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓶𝓹𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 🏆#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/kaMePV4yRD

— Mississippi State Men’s Golf (@HailStateMG) March 5, 2023

“I am obviously very proud of our team for the resilience and determination they showed today,” head coach Dusty Smith said. “It certainly wasn’t a perfect round, but the guys did a great job of accepting their shots and moving on from them. I can’t say enough about Ruan and how he played this week. It was great watching him win the individual title.”

Pretorius secured the individual championship three strokes ahead of Arkansas-Little Rock’s Matteo Cristoni. He shot a career-low 208 and finished at a career-low 8-under. He registered 16 total birdies for the tournament and went bogey-free on the front nine in the second round and the back nine in the third round. 

“It was great having Coach Smith on the bag,” Pretorius said after his win. “Our goal was to keep it out of the desert and value my golf ball on every shot.”

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒙𝟐 🏆🏆

Ruan Pretorius is your Desert Mountain Invitational Individual Champion‼️#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/Ildq5Cq8Ro

— Mississippi State Men’s Golf (@HailStateMG) March 6, 2023

Austin Vukovits made a 13-spot jump in the final round to finish in a five-way tie for seventh. He carded 11 total birdies and an eagle with scores of 70 and 72 in the first and third rounds, along with a bogey-free back nine in the final round. 

Garrett Endicott and Ford Clegg both finished play with top-20 finishes. Endicott tied for 12th with Santa Clara’s Alex Conley and Little Rock’s Archie Smith. He shot 72 and 71 in the first two rounds, carding nine birdies total and an eagle. Clegg made a 13-spot jump to end the tournament in a four-way tie for 19th with a tournament-low 72 in the final round. He made six birdies in the round and 12 total for the tournament. 

William Wann, playing as an individual, carded six birdies in the…