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Ole Miss Golfer Braden Thornberry Looks for Back-to-Back National Titles
Braden Thornberry Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
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Ole Miss men’s golfer Braden Thornberry took to the links this afternoon at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma for the 2018 NCAA Championships (May 25-28) as the defending national champion.
The NCAA Arnold Palmer Individual National Championship is a 72-hole course that spans 7,460 yards. The top 15 teams and top nine individuals will emerge over the course of three days as they play 54 holes. The final round will take place on Memorial Day, when the national champion will be crowned.
Thornberry qualified for the national championship after firing a 9-under 207 (69-68-70) at the NCAA Bryan Regional, good enough for a fourth-place finish in the 75-player field. The Olive Branch, Mississippi, native became the eighth Rebel in history to individually qualify for the NCAA Championships. As the defending national champion, Thornberry (69.81 stroke average) will have a target on his back as he tries to retain his title. Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com ranked him No. 1 amateur in the world, while he’s ranked top-20 nationally in the following categories: versus par (6th at -1.94), scoring average (7th-69.81), par 3 scoring (11th-3.02), par 5 scoring (12th-4.53), par 4 scoring (13th-3.98) and birdies (13th-149).
“This is a great way for Braden to end another impressive season,” said head coach Chris Malloy. “To even qualify for nationals in an accomplishment in itself, but Braden has bigger plans this week. He has his eyes set on defending his national championship, and we are ready to put that plan into motion on the course.”
Last year Thornberry posted 11-under (66-71-69-71–277) at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club to become the first national champion in Ole Miss Golf history. His four-shot victory at the 2017 NCAA Championship was the largest margin of victory since 2006. Thornberry entered the final round trailing by three shots, but with the help of an eagle on the par-4 sixth he claimed a four-shot lead at the turn that he would not surrender on the back nine. With the remarkable win, Thornberry joined a list of former NCAA individual champions that include Ben Crenshaw, Luke Donald, Tom Kite, Justin Leonard, Phil Michelson, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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