Ole Miss Golf Stays in State for Old Waverly Collegiate Championship

Published 3:00 pm Friday, March 26, 2021

WEST POINT, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s golf team makes its annual trip to West Point, Mississippi for the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship this weekend (March 26-28). The Rebels have competed in the tournament each year since it began in 2013.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, March 26  – 18 Holes (Tee times beginning at 8 a.m. CT)
Saturday, March 27  – 18 Holes (Tee times beginning at 8 a.m. CT)
Sunday, March 28  – 18 Holes (Tee times beginning at 8 a.m. CT)

THE LINEUP
Jackson Suber (Jr.) – 9:10 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Ranked No. 35 in the country (Golfstat rankings)
  • Tied a tournament record at the 2019 Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, firing a 65- (-7) in the final round
  • Leads the team with a 71.13 stroke average, ranked 17th in the SEC
  • Has finished in the top 10 in each of the past three tournaments
  • Earned medalist honors at the LSU Invitational (Feb. 26-28) and the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Nov. 8-10); named SEC Golfer of the Week accolades following his win at the LSU Invitational
  • His 198 (-12) at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Nov. 8-10) tied Braden Thornberry for the lowest 54-hole total in school history
  • Making his 26th start, playing in every tournament since arriving on campus
  • 2019-20 PING Southeast All-Region
  • Qualified for match play at the 2020 U.S. Amateur

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Veeti Mahonen (So.) – 9 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Has played in all five tournaments this season, recording a 73.87 stroke average
  • Making his 14th start, appearing in each event since arriving on campus
  • Ended the General Hackler Championship (March 14-16) with a hole-in-one
  • Tied for eighth at the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate (Oct. 25-27), leading the field with 19 birdies and shooting in the 60s all three rounds
  • Ranked seventh among SEC freshman with a 72.58 stroke average a season ago

Jack Gnam (Jr.) – 8:50 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Tied for 26th at the 2019 Old Waverly Collegiate Championship (69-72-75—216)
  • Appearing in his 21st tournament as a Rebel
  • Made his season debut for Ole Miss at the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate (Oct. 25-27), tying for 11th with a career-low 205 (65-70-70); his opening round 65 (-6) was a career best
  • Won the prestigious Cotton States Invitational last summer
  • Recorded a 72.75 stroke average last season

Brett Schell (R-Fr.) – 8:40 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Has played in all five tournaments this season, recording a 73.73 stroke average
  • Shot a career-low 213 (73-71-69) at the Vanderbilt Legends Collegiate (Oct. 25-27), which included his first round in the 60s as a Rebel
  • Led Ole Miss in his collegiate debut, tying for 34th at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 5-7)
  • 2019-20 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
  • Named the 2019 National Senior Boys’ Golfer of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association

Sarut Vongchaisit (Jr.) – 8:30 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Has played in all five tournaments this season, holding a 74.40 stroke average
  • Fired a 66 (-4) in his final round of the fall to lead the Rebels to the fifth-lowest team round in school history (274)
  • Making his 20th career start
  • Made a team-high nine birdies at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 5-7)
  • Posted a career-low 72.00 stroke average after playing in all eight tournaments last season; recorded 16 rounds of par-or-better last season, including a career-low 65

INDIVIDUAL
Cecil Wegener (Jr.) – 8:10 a.m. CT off No. 10

  • Competing as an individual for the second time this season after cracking the lineup in two other tournaments
  • Played in one event during the fall, the season-opening Blessings Collegiate Invitational, his first tournament in 17 months
  • Missed the entire 2019-20 season due to injury
  • Competed in the 2020 U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes
  • As a sophomore, played in all 12 tournaments (72.76 stroke average) which included capturing medalist honors at the All-American Collegiate

THE FIELD (Rankings: Golfstat)
#24 Alabama
#22 Arkansas
#7 Auburn
ETSU
#13 Georgia
Kansas State
Little Rock
#25 LSU
Mississippi State (host)
Ole Miss
Southern Miss
#21 Tennessee
#9 Texas A&M
#20 Texas Tech
#10 Vanderbilt

THE COURSE
Designed by the award-winning duo of Jerry Pate (US Open Champion) and Bob Cupp, Old Waverly stretches out to over 7,000 yards (par 72) from the tips and delivers an unrivaled golf experience highlighted by holes that place a premium on accuracy and shotmaking and a bevy of risk/reward shots, all while navigating through some of the most scenic acreage in the Mississippi Black Prairie. Old Waverly has also had the honor to host several high-profile championship golf events over the years, including the Women’s US Mid-Amateur, and most notably, the 1999 US Women’s Open won by World Golf Hall of Famer, Juli Inkster. Old Waverly also hosted the 2019 US Women’s Amateur Championships

THOUGHTS FROM COACH MALLOY
“We are extremely excited to get back into tournament play on a golf course that we are very familiar with. This group has had some success here in the past, and I know they have some good mojo around here. I’m looking forward to watching our guys get out here and gain some confidence as we progress towards postseason play.

A TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER
Since the tournament began in 2013, the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship has been a constant in the Rebels’ schedule. Ole Miss has competed in all seven tournaments, finishing no worse than third after an 11th-place showing in the inaugural event.  Since then, the Rebels have placed third four times and finished runner-up twice. Braden Thornberry was a two-time medalist, winning the 2016 and 2018 tournaments. With the 2020 tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rebels were runner-up in 2019 thanks to the second-lowest score (-17) in the history of the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship.

REBELS IN THE TOURNAMENT RECORD BOOK
Ole Miss can be found all over the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship record book. Here are where Rebel performances rank in tournament history.

  • 1. Lowest Player Round: 65 (-7) – Jackson Suber (2019)
  • 2. Lowest Team 54-Hole Score: 847 (-17) in 2019
  • 2. Lowest Player 54-Hole Score: 204 (-12) – Braden Thornberry (2018)
  • 3. Lowest Team Round: 277 (-11) in 2017
  • 4. Lowest Player 54-Hole Score: 206 (-10) – Jackson Suber (2019) and Blake Morris (2015)
  • 6. Lowest Player Round: 66 (-6) – Beau Briggs (2019)
  • 7. Lowest Team Round: 278 (-10) in 2019
  • 10. Lowest Team 54-Hole Score: 856 (-8) in 2015

WHAT A FIELD
Old Waverly hosts one of the best fields in the country with nine of the 15 teams ranked in the top 25 of Golfstat’s national rankings. That includes three top-10 teams, all from the SEC. There are familiar opponents for the Rebels as well with eight other SEC schools in the field.

LAST TIME OUT
Veeti Mahonen recorded a hole-in-one on his last hole of the day, and Ole Miss vaulted up the leaderboard to wrap up the General Hackler Championship (March 14-16) at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club. The Rebels finished in the middle of the pack, tying for eighth at 15-over (290-297-292—879). Despite seeing his streak of par-or-better rounds come to an end at nine in a row, Jackson Suber still finished in the top 10. A final round 75 (+3), on a day when the par-72 course was difficult, only dropped him one spot into a tie for eighth (68-72-75—215). He ended the tournament with birdies on his last two holes.

TOP-10 SUBER
Jackson Suber has been playing some stellar golf over the past three tournaments. He started the stretch by ending the fall with co-medalist honors at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate (Nov. 8-10). Getting the spring season underway, Suber won the LSU Invitational (Feb. 26-28) to secure back-to-back victories and SEC Golfer of the Week honors. An eighth-place finish at the General Hackler Championship (March 14-16) gave Suber his third consecutive top-10 showing and 10th of his career. The Tampa, Florida, native has shot par-or-better nine of his past 10 rounds heading into this weekend.

CONSISTENCY IN THE LINEUP
Chris Malloy has found consistency in his lineup with four Rebels playing in all five events so far this season: Veeti MahonenBrett SchellJackson Suber and Sarut VongchaisitJack Gnam and Cecil Wegener are the other two Rebels to crack the lineup. For the second consecutive tournament, Ole Miss features the same starting five (Suber, Mahonen, Gnam, Schell, Vongchaisit).

THE VOYAGE TO SEA ISLAND CONTINUES
Beginning the month of April and rounding out play before the conference championship, the Rebels head back to Birmingham for the Shoal Creek Invitational (April 5-7). Then, Ole Miss has two weeks to prepare for the SEC Championship at Sea Island (April 21-25).

FOLLOW THE REBELS 
For updates throughout the tournament, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf , on Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Golf and on OleMissSports.com.