Tankersley Leads Ole Miss To First Day Lead At The Honors Course

Dickson’s Cameron Tankersley shares the individual lead at 6-under in leading Ole Miss to the 36-hole lead at The Invitational at The Honors Course



photo by Ole Miss Athletics

For all of its sheer beauty and unparalleled splendor, The Honors Course has a diabolical side to it as well, punishing the slightest lack of precision and turning it into a big number on the scorecard.

The venerable Pete Dye design flexed its brawn on Monday afternoon in the final stages of the opening day of The Invitational at The Honors Course, shuffling the leaderboard to set the stage for a dramatic final round on Tuesday.

Ole Miss clings to a one-shot cushion over Vanderbilt after 36 holes, posting a combined score of 10-under after opening with an impressive 8-under start in the morning round. The Rebels’ margin would have been even larger had they not fallen victim of the closing gauntlet of holes at The Honors.

Ole Miss stood at 16-under before running into trouble navigating the final stretch, surrendering six shots over their last four holes to finish their second round at 2-under while opening the door for a slew of challengers.

Vanderbilt completed play at 9-under, covering the afternoon loop in 2-under after opening with a round of 7-under. A timely eagle at the par-5 17th from Michael Riebe helped give the Commodores a short-lived lead that was wiped away by a pair of bogeys on 18.

In third place at 7-under is Virginia, which tied Auburn for the best showing in the second 18 with a 6-under total. Auburn sits in fourth at 6-under, followed by Oklahoma at 4-under as the only teams in red figures.

Auburn was 12-under with three holes remaining after opening play on No. 10. However, the Tigers combined for 7-over on the 463-yard par-4 seventh and the challenging 226-yard par-3 eighth before gaining a stroke back on their last hole.

A pair of former teammates at Dickson County High School share the 36-hole individual lead. Ole Miss senior Cameron Tankersley and Tennessee sophomore Jackson Herrington ended the day at 6-under 138, one shot clear of Josiah Gilbert of Auburn and Pepperdine’s Mahanth Chirravuri at 5-under 139.

Ole Miss grabbed the lead after the opening 18, posting a team score of 8-under which was one ahead of Vanderbilt and two clear of Tennessee as Cohen Trolio led the Rebels with a 68 on his first loop.

After starting his afternoon round with a bogey at the first, Tankersley reeled off three straight birdies starting at No. 3 to shoot 33 on the front to give Ole Miss some momentum. He then strung together seven consecutive pars on the back side before another birdie at 17 moved him to 6 under, finishing with a 68. Tankersley managed eight birdies on his day while suffering only two bogeys to lead all golfers.

Tom Fischer collected four birdies to post a 69 to add to the Rebels’ success, while Michael La Sasso supplied four birdies of his own to shoot 72 in the afternoon.

Freshman Jon Ed Steed posted a pair of 70s for Vanderbilt to join teammate Riebe at 4-under in a tie for fifth. Wells Williams is at 2-under after carding a 69 in the afternoon round.

After posting a 4-under 68 in the morning, Ben James closed with a 73 to lead Virginia at 3-under 141 which is tied for seventh. Bryan Lee added to the Cavaliers’ cause with a total of 2-under 142.

Auburn’s Gilbert put together a masterful afternoon loop to propel his team’s comeback effort. Following a 73 in the morning, Gilbert was 7-under through his first 15 holes in the afternoon to earn a share of the lead. Back-to-back bogeys at 7 and 8 dropped him to 4-under, but he rallied to birdie his final hole to post a 6-under 66 for the afternoon’s low round.

Tennessee’s Herrington continued his stellar play that saw him advance to the finals of last month’s U.S. Amateur. The sophomore lefty tallied eight birdies – four on each nine – against a lone bogey to shoot 7-under 65 to grab the lead after the first round, two shots better than the 5-under 67 carded by Oklahoma’s PJ Maybank III.

Herrington then encountered a speed bump with three straight bogeys on the front nine of his afternoon round before rallying with three birdies over his closing nine to pull even with Tankersley at 6-under after posting a 73.

Chirravuri recorded rounds of 70 and 69 with ten birdies on his day.

The final 18 holes will begin on Tuesday morning at 8:00 off split tees, and the public is invited to attend with free admission.

Chattanooga Mocs In 11th Place

Host Chattanooga rallied to shoot 9-over in the afternoon after opening with a 12-over round, closing the opening day in 11th at 21-over.

Freshman Evan Rogers shot 33 over his final nine holes highlighted by an eagle at the par-4 12th hole to post a 71. The Duluth, Ga. native opened with 75 to close the day at 2-over 146, tied for 29th.

Griffin Law (73-77) finished 6-over 150 (T43), Camden Braidech (76-75) is at 7-over 151 (T47), and Ward Harris (76-76) closed at 8-over 152 (T50) among the counting scores. Dalton Burts, playing as an individual, posted a 75-76 to tally a 7-over 151 (T47).

Team Scores:

1. Ole Miss -10

2. Vanderbilt -9

3. Virginia -7

4. Auburn -6

5. Oklahoma -4

6. Tennessee +3

7. Pepperdine +6

8. Clemson +7

T9. Marquette +18

Duke +18

11. Chattanooga +21

12. Charleston +29

Individual Leaders:

T1) Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss -6

Jackson Herrington, Tennessee -6

T3) Josiah Gilbert, Auburn -5

Mahanth Chirravuri, Pepperdine -5

T5) Jon Ed Steed, Vanderbilt -4

Michael Riebe, Vanderbilt -4

T7) Tom Fischer, Ole Miss -3

Billy Davis, Auburn -3

PJ Maybank III, Oklahoma -3

Ben James, Virginia -3

For complete results, go to Invitational at The Honors Course.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com