Ole Miss men’s golf travels to Magic City to face loaded field at Collegiate Invitational

It’s been a reoccurring story with OUR GOLF SONS all season, dig an early hole and then spend the rest of the tournament fighting like hell to get back into some semblance of contention.

The hope was that a bit of a home game might reverse that trend when the squad headed to the Golden Triangle for the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, but old habits are hard to break, and the Golf Rebs keep going back to that same pattern of behavior.

Day one was a bit damp in West Point and the Rebels struggled to find any sure footing. The best any single golfer could muster that day was an even par round of 72, carded by Junior swingsman Jack Gnam. The Rebs as a team finished at +8 and found themselves at the bottom of the standings looking up after Day 1.

Day two was again the springboard for the team to get back into the tournament. Jackson Suber, as he is wont to do, led the way, this time in a rather big way, dropping a tournament record 63 on the field.

The 7 birdie and 1 eagle performance by Suber was backed up by a 69 (-3) from Jack Gnam and a 68 (-4) from Sarut Vongchaisit. The birdie fest got the boys back in the hunt in 8th place at -7 total.

Day three was another tough day for the Rebs in terms of scoring. No Rebel golfer finished under par, with Suber leading the way with a +1 73.

Despite the less than ideal scoring, the team was able to maintain a middle of the pack finish in 9th at a +4 total.

Individually, Jackson Suber did what Jackson Suber has done in every tournament in the Spring, finish in the Top 10. This time, it was a 4th place score of -5 for the Rebs pace setter. Gnam and Vongchaisit also had quality showings at Old Waverly, both posting final scores of even for the week and a T-22 finish.

Georgia ran away with the even at -20, 10 shots clear of nearest competitor Texas A&M. Sam Bennett of A&M took him individual honors at -11 for the week.

This week’s tournament: The Collegiate Invitational (inspired name)

When: April 5-7

Where: Birmingham, Ala.

The Course: Country Club of Birmingham

Bit of a venue change for this one in the Iron City. This one was originally supposed to be played at Shoal Creek but then a recent tornado had other plans, as you can see

The 30th-ranked Rebels:

Jackson Suber (Jr., Tampa, Fla.): Continues to devour Top 10’s on a tournament-by-tournament basis. Only ranked 32nd by Golfweek because computers and magazines about golf are stupid.

Sarut Vongchaisit (Jr., Bangkok, Thailand): Finally got the train back on the tracks at Old Waverly. A T22 finish included a round of -4 on day two.

Veeti Mahonen (Soph, Kirkkonummi, Finland): Tough week overall in West Point. Will hopefully find inspiration in some of Birmingham’s fine art and architecture.

Brett Schell (Redshirt Fr., St. Augustine, Fla.): Looking to rebound after the Freshmen’s worst performance of the year so far at Old Waverly.

Jack Gnam (Junior, Ridgeland, Miss.): Emerging as a reliable starter after posting a T22 in the last tournament, including a second round 69 (-3).

The Field: Alabama, No. 21 Arkansas, No. 9 Auburn, Charlotte, No. 4 Clemson, No. 12 Georgia, Kentucky, No. 23 LSU, Mississippi State, No. 22 North Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, No. 19 UAB, No. 10 Vanderbilt, Virginia

The top individuals who will be playing for second: BIG OL’ STUPID LOADED FIELD THIS WEEK.

No. 2 Jacob Bridgeman — Clemson, No. 7 John Augustein — Vanderbilt, No. 13 Davis Thompson — Georgia, No. 16 William Moll — Vanderbilt, No. 22 Trent Phillips — Georgia, No. 26 Julian Perch — Arkansas, No. 34 Alex Goff — Kentucky, No. 36 Matthew Riedel — Vanderbilt, No. 39 Wilson Furr — Alabama, No. 43 Graysen Huff — Auburn, No. 50 Thomas Ponder — Alabama

Where to follow: Golfstat and Ole Miss Golf Twitter are your go to online sources to follow the action.

Next Up: Iron your seersucker and commandeer the nearest resort golf cart because we are headed to The SEC Tournament in Sea Island, Ga.