Bulldogs Set Sights To Tennessee For Mason Randolph Championship
The three-day, three round event will be played at the par-71, 7,100-yard Vanderbilt Legends Club beginning Friday. Opened in 1992, the club is located just south of Nashville in Franklin,Tenn.
"This week we look to continue our good play from the last tournament," head coach Clay Homan said. "Each tournament presents a new set of challenges, and this week the premium is on putting. The Legends Club has large, undulating greens, so we have to put the ball in the proper spots and have good speed control."
A player that Homan will be counting on to make those crucial putts will be junior Chad Ramey. The All-SEC member from a year ago turned in his career-best finish with a fourth-place card at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate. In his last appearance at the Mason Randolph, the Fulton, Miss., native finished seventh during his freshman season.
The Maroon and White hasn't played at the Legend's Club since 2010, when the Bulldogs finished 10th. The team's best finish in the event was a runner-up finish in 2007, and State's best individual effort at the Mason Rudolph was Codie Mudd's title-winning score of 10-under 200 in 2001.
The Bulldogs' line-up for this year's event will be composed of Ramey, senior Robi Calvesbert, junior Joe Sakulpolphaisan, junior Axel Boasson and sophomore Fletcher Johnson.
From that group Fletcher Johnson will be making his 2012 season debut. The sophomore played in four events for MSU last season, averaging 74.18 strokes a round. Johnson's highest finish of his freshman campaign came at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate where he finished eighth.
In the season-opening Sam Hall Intercollegiate, State engineered a 14-stroke turnaround between the first and second round. The team's improvement can be directly attributed to Thailand-product Sakulpolphaisan's turn-around performance. The junior carded a 79 during the opening round, but carved 10 strokes off his card to finish with a 69 and 68, respectively.
Homan's Bulldogs face the toughest competition of the year when they set out against 14 other teams, including Vanderbilt and last week's Sam Hall team champion Ole Miss. Other teams include Arkansas State, Charleston, Davidson, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Middle Tennessee State, Oklahoma, Rice, South Alabama, East Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Virginia.
Live stats will be available through HailState.com. Fans can also follow Mississippi State Golf on Twitter @mstateMG and Facebook at facebook.com/mstateMG.
