From the Wire: Huge day two sees Ole Miss men's golf head into fial day of Norman Regional in third

OLE MISS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS | NORMAN, Okla. – A monster second round at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club on Tuesday saw the Ole Miss men’s golf team soar up into a tie for third on the Norman Regional team leaderboard, with the Rebels ending the day with a round of 281 (-7).

The Rebels now stand within the top five of the Norman Regional with a two-day score of 568 (-8) on the week, five strokes clear of sixth place South Carolina who is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to NCAA Championships qualification.

Only the top five finishing teams will clinch spots in the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, along with the top individual from a non-advancing team.

Ole Miss currently ranks third in the field in total birdies (37), par-4 scoring (+2) and par-5 scoring (-13) on the week. The team’s round of 281 marks the second-lowest team round of the day, trailing only regional leader Auburn.

“I am as proud of this group as I have been all year with today’s round,” said head coach Chris Malloy. “We got off to a very poor start and they didn’t blink. They continued to fight and claw, and they turned their day around and found a way to post the second-best team round of the day.”

Continuing to show his poise down the stretch for the Rebels was senior Jackson Suber, who would shave two more strokes off of his first round score of 70 (-2) to log a 68 (-4) on day two, moving the senior into sole possession of fourth on the individual leaderboard. Suber has now logged his 11th round in the 60s on the 2021-22 season, tying him for fourth all-time in Ole Miss men’s golf history with Joe David’s 2011-12 season. Suber has now had at least one round in the 60s at eight of his 10 tournament appearances for Ole Miss on the year.

Evan Brown would also string together a dominant round for the Rebels on day two in Norman, with Brown carding a 67 (-5), matching the lowest 18-hole score of his Rebel career. Brown’s seven-birdie performance on the day saw him hit his stride on the back nine of the day, shooting a bogey-free four-under on his final nine holes on his way to holding a share of eighth place individually. Brown now ranks fourth in the field in birdies, with the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, native sitting at 10 total two days into the regional.

With a round of 71 (-1) on the day, redshirt-freshman Kye Meeks also carded a below-par round counting towards the Rebels’ team score, with the recent SEC All-Freshman team selection sinking a trio of birdie putts on the day to move into a tie for 36th. Senior Jack Gnam, coming off of his opening round of 70 (-2) a day prior, would earn the final scoring round for the Rebels with his second-round scorecard of 75 (+3), moving the senior into a tie for 24th individually.

Sarut Vongchaisit finished his second round from Norman with a 76 (+4), moving him into 43rd place. Vongchaisit saw four total birdies in his round on Tuesday, with all of them coming in his back nine of the day.

Auburn leads the way on the team leaderboard in Norman with a two-day team score of 556 (-20), edging out regional host Oklahoma who sits in second place at 562 (-14). Ole Miss currently sits tied with the Texas Longhorns at eight-under on the week, while the final qualification spot on the team side belongs to Utah (572).

“We need to keep the same mindset as we get tomorrow’s round started,” Malloy said. “The goal tomorrow is to have the low round of the day.”

Ole Miss is set to tee off for the final round from Norman at 8:30 a.m. CT on Wednesday, with the Rebels looking to punch their ticket to their first NCAA Championships appearance as a team in four years.

THE REBELS
4: Jackson Suber: 70-68–138 (-6)
T8: Evan Brown: 74-67–141 (-3)
T24: Jack Gnam: 70-75–145 (+1)
T36: Kye Meeks: 77-71–148 (+4)
T43: Sarut Vongchaisit: 73-76–149 (+5)

TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Auburn: 280-276–556 (-20)
2. Oklahoma: 277-285–562 (-14)
T3. Ole Miss: 287-281–568 (-8)
T3. Texas: 282-286–568 (-8)
5. Utah: 280-292–572 (-4)
6. South Carolina: 278-295–573 (-3)
7. Louisville: 297-284–581 (+5)
8. San Diego State: 290-293–583 (+7)
T9. Kansas State: 302-288–590 (+14)
T9. Missouri: 294-296–590 (+14)
11. Kent State: 307-293–600 (+24)
12. UT Martin: 296-306–602 (+26)
13. Rider: 304-311–615 (+39)