Southern Miss shoots under par for second-straight day at Jim Rivers Intercollegiate

Published 1:47 pm Tuesday, September 14, 2021

For a second consecutive day, the Southern Miss duo of Hunter Atkins and Thongpipat Rattanayanon led the way at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate at Choudrant on Monday.

Atkins, a senior from West Point, Miss., shot a second-round, four-under-par 68 at the par 72, 7,105-yard Squire Creek Country Club to hold second place in the individual standings with a 137 overall stroke total.

Atkins finds himself just one stroke behind leader Sam Murphy of Louisiana Tech heading into Tuesday’s final round.

The Golden Eagles also got a 70 from the sophomore Rattanayanon, from Bangkok, Thailand, who registered a two-day 141 total for a 10th-place tie.

 “Our guys are doing a fine job on the par 5s,” said Southern Miss coach Eddie Brescher. “We struggled on the par 3s in round one but did a much better job on those today.”

Southern Miss shot one stroke better than its opening round with a 284 and enjoys a 569 stroke total, but fell to fifth in the team standings. The Golden Eagles trail leader UTSA by seven strokes, while host Louisiana Tech is in second at minus-11, LSU is third at minus-10 and Little Rock at minus-9 in the team scoring.

“We are definitely still in this tournament,” said Brescher. “Only seven back with one round to go is certainly doable for us. In college golf, being seven back with one round to go is like being two back in an individual tournament. Anything can happen. However, we are going to focus on what we can control…and that is our own game. We’re going to take it one shot at a time and fight like crazy. We will add them up in the end and see where it puts us.”

Freshman Ryan Dupuy (Baton Rouge, La.) added a 74 to accumulate a two-round total of 146 for a 43rd-place tie, while sophomore Robbie Latter (Mississauga, Ontario) totals a 146 after shooting a 74 in the second round for a 60th-place tie. 

The lone Golden Eagle who is playing as an independent, sophomore Warwick Purchase of Pretoria, South Africa, fired a 76 for a 150 total and a 76th-place tie. Senior Brice Wilkinson (Madison, Miss.) ended the Golden Eagles’ day with an even-par 72 to post a 152 and a 101st-place tie.

The final round takes place Tuesday morning starting at 8 a.m. Fans call following the live scoring by clicking here.