Mississippi State’s men’s golf team closed out the regular season and protected its home course this week at the Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship in West Point, where it rallied from a nine-shot deficit on Monday for a first-place tie with Ole Miss at -17 under.
The victory is the program’s second team win of the year and is the first time the Bulldogs have won a home event since 2014 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship.
The Rebels led the tournament on Day 1 at 17-under with the Bulldogs nine strokes behind (-8) in second place. After a bogey on the first hole, Mississippi State graduate senior Dain Richie led the charge from behind with back-to-back birdies on holes two and three and then two more on 10 and 17 to close out his final round, in which he met par 13 times. Richie finished at 8-under in a first-place tie with Ole Miss’ Tom Fischer for his first individual victory of the year and the team’s first since Hunter Logan captured the Visit Knoxville Collegiate in 2023.
“I thought it was a heck of a round today,” head coach Dusty Smith said. “We knew we had to come out fighting to even have a chance. Our intention was top three or better with a chance to win and we were able to do that, which is great heading into the postseason. I’m really proud of these guys. They’ve had their backs against the wall the past three tournaments, and they really responded. They played the big moments. There are so many I can think of this week, but we played big when we needed to.”
Senior Garrett Endicott posted the team’s best final-round score at 4-under to grab his second top-five finish of the year. He sank three birdies on the front nine and followed up with three more after the turn. La Baule, France, native and MSU senior Ugo Malcor finished in 11th place. After back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14, Malcor saved his final round of even par with a birdie on the 17th hole.
“I can’t say enough about all the guys, but especially the seniors,” Smith said. “Garrett Endicott finishing top five in his final Mossy Oak Collegiate, Ugo Malcor having a fantastic week and Dain Richie getting his first collegiate win. I can’t say enough about those guys.”
Freshman Jackson Skinner closed out the tournament with a bogey-free final round at 2-under. He grabbed par through the first 11 holes before landing his first birdie on the 12th. He added one more birdie on 17 that was capped off by a putt from long distance to finish in a tie for 23rd.
Up next for the team is the SEC Tournament on April 22-24 at St. Simons Island in Georgia.
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