DIAMONDHEAD - The Northwest Mississippi Community College golf team concluded their first tournament of the spring season at Diamondhead Country Club in Diamondhead on Monday and Tuesday participating in the Pearl River Wildcat Invitational, placing two individuals in the top 25 in the field of 12 teams.
With temperatures finally starting to rise again after the winter storm, NWCC was in the middle of the pack with a 36-over after day one, but they were able to have a better second day hitting 26-over, finishing the tournament 62-over, only eight strokes out of fifth place.
The Ranger that performed the best individually was freshman Cole Elander. Elander had the best tournament of his young career, placing ninth overall and earning his first top 10 finish by going only 6-over.
On the first day of competition, Elander had his round capped by making a birdie on hole three and a double-eagle on hole 17. His success did not stop there as Elander made three birdies on day two. Elander was just five strokes away from third place.
Every member of Northwest's team either finished day two with the exact same number of strokes, or they decreased their number of strokes.
The biggest improvement between the two days came from Fadi Burnet, who was playing in his first tournament for the Rangers after just transferring to Northwest over the break. The French native was able to hit two birdies on day two, cutting down his 15-over on day one to 9-over on day two.
Burnet finished tied for 50th place hitting 24-over, and was joined by fellow Rangers Braden Beverage, and Caesar Ingendorf. Beverage had a pair of birdies on day one in a less than perfect day where he was 17-over but rebounded with a 7-over on his second round. Ingendorf struggled more on day two's back nine on the second day but was still able to record one birdie in his round.
Hitting seven over on both days of competition, freshman Atharv Sharma was able to maintain his standing of 23rd in the field. Sharma had a birdie on hole seven on day one and only went over par four times on day two to maintain his position with one of his best rounds of the year.
The Rangers had a competitor that competed individually, Logan Drumwright. Drumwright hit 30-over, placing 57th overall.
NWCC is currently ranked #34 in the NJCAA Division II polls and will look to continue to knock the frost off as the season progresses.
The next tournament for the Rangers will be the Chris Clark Invitational at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club on Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3 in Choctaw.
To stay up to date on the NWCC golf, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
