Thornberry To Compete For NCAA Title On Memorial Day

Ole Miss sophomore Braden Thornberry fired a 3-under par 69 in the third round of stroke play to advance to the championship round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships Sunday.
Thornberry knocked in seven birdies in the third round, shooting 4-under on par 5s. The Olive Branch, Mississippi native rolled in two birdies in his first nine holes but finished the front nine even. The sophomore got things rolling on the back nine, finishing 3-under par with five birdies including red marks on holes 17 and 18.
Thornberry is two off Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler, who leads the field at 12-under. After tying the collegiate course record in the opening round with a 6-under 66 and second round score of 1-under, Thornberry is 10-under for the tournament. He leads Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt and Dylan Meyer of Illinois by one stroke each. He is the top player of nine individuals not on qualifying teams that advanced to the final round of stroke play. A cumulative score for all four rounds will determine who wins the individual national title.
“I expect him to walk away with a big trophy tomorrow,” said head coach Chris Malloy. “It is no surprise that he is in this position once again. He knows that he belongs in this position, which is most important. He is a special player, and I am thankful to get an opportunity to coach a player like him.”
Ole Miss missed the cut as a team finishing 22nd of 30 teams. The Rebels concluded their best season in program history since 1984, as this season Ole Miss qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2001 and broke the program record for the most rounds under par in a season by two rounds with 19 total rounds under par. The Rebels won four tournaments and finished in the top five in 11. Both marks are tied for second most in program history.
Senior Ben Wolcott wraps up his career as one of the top Rebels in program history. His scoring average of 71.39 is fifth all-time and the Dickson, Tennessee native recorded two tournament wins and 24 top-20 finishes in his career. Wolcott posted a 3-over par 75 in his final round and finished 9-over par for the tournament.
Rounding out the Rebels were sophomore Josh Seiple and junior Kerry Sweeney. Sweeney accumulated six top-20 finishes in his debut season as a Rebel. The Melbourne, Florida native birdied the 18th and finished his round at 4-over par 76. Seiple earned a top-10 finish this season and finished third in scoring average for the team.
Thornberry tees off tomorrow at 1:40PM from No. 13 with a national championship in his sight. For all Ole Miss Men’s golf news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf, on Instagram at OleMissMGolf and on Facebook at facebook.com/OleMissMGolf. Fans can also follow head coach Chris Malloy on Twitter @CoachMalloy12.

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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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