Sweeney's Career Day Propels Ole Miss To NCAA Championships

Ole Miss Men’s Golf at the 2017 NCAA Men’s Golf Tournament in Austin, Texas.
Photos by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics

Junior Kerry Sweeney tied a career low with a final round 4-under par 67 at The University of Texas Golf Club Wednesday to propel the Rebels to their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2001.

“We have been working toward this all year and over the last few years.,” said Rebel head coach Chris Malloy. “I am happy for our guys, especially our seniors that helped this program take off and get to this point. It was a total team effort this week.”
Sweeney carded a 1-under par on the front nine and caught fire on his final nine holes, making birdies on five of seven (holes No. 8 through 14). His 67 paced the Rebels and helped secure a top-five finish at the NCAA Austin Regional.
“He has been great in final rounds all year,” Malloy said. “We joke about it and we laughed about it last night. There was no doubt in our minds, especially in Kerry’s mind, that he was going to play great today. Like he has done all year, he showed up and put us on his back today.”
Ole Miss posted its best round of the regional with a 6-under par 278 to finish the tournament at 2-over par 854 in fourth place. Top seed Oklahoma State won the Austin Regional at 13-under par. Joining the Rebels and Pokes in their trip to the NCAA Championships are host Texas, Iowa State and Arizona State.
Sophomore Braden Thornberry notched his ninth top-five finish of the season as the Olive Branch, Mississippi, native finished in fourth place. Thornberry posted a 2-under par 69 in the final round, ending the tournament at 4-under par 209. On the back nine, senior Ben Wolcott birdied twice to complete a 1-over 72 in the final round of the Austin Regional. The Dickson, Tennessee, native finished tied for 15th place, good for his 10th top-20 finish of the season. Sophomore Josh Seiple notched his fourth birdie of the day on the 495-yard, par 4 18th to finish 1-under on the day. Seiple finished 4-over on the tournament and tied for 25th place. Senior Noah West posted with his best round of the tournament at 1-over par 72. The Tupelo, Mississippi, native went par-birdie-par-birdie through a tough stretch of holes on the front nine and finished his final eight holes at 1-under.
The Rebels are one of 30 teams that advanced to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois on May 26-31. The national championship layout is four rounds of stroke play May 26-28 with the top eight teams advancing to match play beginning May 29. For all Ole Miss Men’s golf news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf, on Instagram at OleMissMGolf and on Facebook at facebook.com/OleMissMGolf. Fans can also follow head coach Chris Malloy on Twitter @CoachMalloy12.
Ole Miss Individuals
4. Thornberry – 68-72-69–209
T15. Wolcott – 68-72-72–212
T22. Sweeney – 73-76-67–216
T25. Seiple – 73-74-70–217
T49. West – 74-77-72–223
Team Leaderboard
1. Oklahoma State – 287-282-270–839
2. Texas – 277-288-276–841
3. Iowa State – 290-292-263–845
4. Ole Miss – 282-294-278–854
5. Arizona State – 290-293-276–859
6. Wake Forrest – 294-293-276–863
7. North Carolina State – 290-297-277–864
8. College of Charleston – 291-295-289–875
9. Kansas – 296-301-279–876
10. McNeese – 303-300-274–877
T11. Georgia Southern – 295-292-292–879
T11. Liberty – 294-305-280–879
13. Wichita State – 308-288-291–887
14. St. Peter’s – 319-316-309–944

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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