Morris Leads Rebels On Day One At Sam Hall

Blake Morris fired 7-under par through the first two rounds. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Junior Blake Morris fired a total of 7-under par through two rounds of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, including a 4-under 67 in the second round Monday, to help Ole Miss into a tie for fourth place heading into tomorrow final round.

The Rebels posted a team total of 564, posting a score of 289 in the first round, followed by a 276 in the afternoon. Ole Miss is currently tied with Mercer, after both teams carded an overall score of 564, and trail Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State and South Alabama.

Morris posted seven birdies in the first round to card a 3-under par 68 in the morning round. In the afternoon, the Waterbury, Conn., native notched four birdies, good for a 4-under par 67. He is currently tied for fourth overall, two shots behind leaders Grady Brame, of Southeastern Louisiana, and Joe Sakulpolphaisan, of Mississippi State.

Joe Lewis carded a 3-under 68 in the first round, posting five birdies, followed by a two-over par performance in the second round. The junior is currently tied for 21st overall.

“I was really excited about this opportunity,” head coach Ernest Ross said. “We played very well in early fall practice. We made way too many mistakes today to be a good team. Blake Morris played well again and is in contention individually. It was very on this 36-hole day. Our real challenge is to recover well and come out tomorrow with some energy and fire. If we can get a good team effort, we can move up.”

Sophomore Forrest Gamble, tied for 27th overall, shot even par, posting a 1-over 72 in the first round and a 1-under 70 in the afternoon. Fellow sophomore Connor Davis finished the day 4-over par with rounds of 74 and 72, while freshman Ben Wolcott carded rounds of 74 and 75 to post 7-over for the day.

Senior Tom Brown, who is competing as an individual, posted rounds of 75 and 69 to card a 144.

The third and final round tees off tomorrow and fans can follow live scoring by going to OleMissSports.com and clicking on the link in the calendar. Follow the Rebels all season on twitter at @OleMissMGolf and on facebook at www.facebook.com/OleMissMGolf.

Ole Miss Individuals

T4. Blake Morris 68-67-135

T21. Joe Lewis 73-68-141

T27. Forrest Gamble 72-70-142

T50. Connor Davis 74-72-146

T66. Ben Wolcott 74-74-149

(Individual)

T34. Tom Brown 75-69-14

Team Scores

1. Louisiana-Lafayette 281-272-553

2. Mississippi State 281-276-557

3. South Alabama 276-282-558

T4. Mercer 286-278-564

T4. Ole Miss 287-277-564

6. Sam Houston State 288-277-565

7. Tennessee Tech 283-284-567

8. Louisiana-Monroe 291-278-569

9. Southeastern Louisiana 287-283-570

10. Rice 285-287-572

T11. UTSA 293-281-574

T11. Arkansas State 295-279-574

13. Southern Mississippi 291-284-575

14. Houston Baptist 291-292-583

15. Jackson State 303-300-603

— Ole Miss Sports Information