LAUREL – The #20 Northwest Mississippi Community College men's golf team had one of their best performances of the year in MACCC tournament action to kick off the week, finishing in second place at the Bobcat Invitational, hosted by Jones College at Laurel Country Club.
The Rangers had a consistent tournament, going 21-over during their opening round, improving to a 14-over on their second 18, before closing out the tournament with a 17-over on the final day.
"It was a great event for us," Head Coach Adam Payne said. "We played there last year, and it was extremely cold and wet, and we didn't play well, so we had some guys with some ill memories of that golf course from last year. (This year) the weather conditions were much better, and the golf course was in great shape."
The difference was clear, with a pair of Rangers finishing in the top ten, and two more in the top 20 of a tough field.
Northwest was paced by Caesar Ingendorf, who had one of his best performances of the year, going four-over in his first round, with the only major blemish a triple bogey on the seventh hole, but a pair of birdies helped to offset that. He rallied back to play the course to even par to round out the 36-hole first day.
On the final day, the sophomore came out and was four-over after four holes, but played one-under the rest of the way to finish the round with a three-over 75 and the tournament at seven over on the way to a sixth-place finish.
Just behind him was Cole Elander, and the sophomore also had a strong tournament, continuing his consistent play on the year with a pair of 74s on the opening day, and he rallied from a five-over front nine on the final day by going one-under on the back nine for a 76.
Elander's best play came on the par fives during the week, playing them to six-under with five birdies and an eagle on the 12 attempts possible.
Atharv Sharma got off to a slow start to his tournament, going six-over and 10-over on the first day, with only three birdies between the two rounds. He would come charging up the leaderboard on the final day, starting off at three under through the first nine holes before closing the day at one-over.
He would finish the tournament at 17-over, placing in a tie for 14th.
Just one stroke behind was Drew Tuccio, who had a roller coaster of a day to open the tournament, finishing his first 18 with a nine-over 81 that included three birdies and an eagle, but was marred by a few tough holes, including an eight on the par four 13th.
His second round was much better, going just two-over par with a pair of birdies mixed in.
Unfortunately, the inconsistent play would strike again on his final round with a pair of double bogeys and a triple costing him on the way to his second 81 of the tournament and a 20-over final score that placed him in a tie for 16th.
Cooper Phillips was the final Ranger to compete, and it was a rough day for the freshman, finishing with a pair of 18-over 90s on the opening day before rallying back to shoot a 16-over 88 on the final day, finishing in 45th place.
"I thought we battled hard throughout both days, and we stayed in a good mindset, so it was a great way to end the season, to finish second in a tournament of that caliber, just losing to Gulf Coast," Payne said. "I was really happy, and it gives us a springboard into the spring, and we are excited about what is coming."
The Rangers finish the fall season with top five finishes in four of their five events, winning their home invitational at the start of the year and bookending it with a second-place finish at the close.
Northwest will be announcing their spring schedule in the coming weeks, and you can keep up with news and updates, including where and when the Rangers will be teeing it up, by visiting nwccrangers.com or by following along on Northwest social media accounts.
