Page 96 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2015

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SPORTS & OUTDOORS coast golf update
DYNAMICDUO Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College finishes third in nation story by Michael Sunderman
ississippi Gulf Coast’s Phillip Hickam and Gran
n Motter finished tied for second in the NJCAA Division II Golf Tournament, which wrapped
t
t
up last month at Goose Pond Colony’s Lake Course.The duo powered the Bulldogs to their second consecutive third-place finish in the
tournament after a strong four days.
“There are 100 teams that start out the beginning of the year, and to finish third? It’s special,” Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. “I’m proud of them.”
South Mountain, from Phoenix, Ariz., won the team title, and the Cougar’s Connor Klein was medalist at 12-under, with three birdies
on the final four holes. Hickam and Motter finished 8-under. South Mountain shot 30-under, followed by Tyler (Texas) at 15-under. Gulf Coast finished even.
Hickam was trying to finish at the top of the leader board for all four rounds. He started the day at 11-under, and made the turn at that same number. The lead started slipping away when he caught a bad break and had to chip sideways from behind a tree on No. 11, leading to double-bogey. He bogeyed the next hole to drop to 3-over for the day and battled his way back to the clubhouse.
“To lead a tournament wire-to-wire, not many people do that,” Snell said. “He hung in there and got a couple of bad breaks on the back nine. He got up and down out of the bunker on 15 for birdie. He really showed a champion’s heart. I’m really proud of him.”
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