Southern Miss Men’s Golf finishes 3rd in Jim Rivers Intercollegiate; Hunter Atkins places 2nd

Published 8:42 am Wednesday, September 15, 2021

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A final-round, two-under par 70 lifted senior Hunter Atkins (West Point, Miss.) to a second-place showing in the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate, which finished Tuesday at the par-72, 7,105-yard Squire Creek Country Club.

Atkins, along with Thongpipat Rattanayanon and Robbie Latter, each posted a 70 over the final 18 holes to give Southern Miss its lowest round total of 282 at the tournament to help them finish third of 21 teams.

“This finish was a great way to start our season,” said Southern Miss coach Eddie Brescher. “We picked up a bunch of victories amongst some great programs. Numerous teams in this field have made the NCAAs in recent years. We want to be one of those postseason teams and it all starts with finishes like this.”

Atkins enjoyed the highest finish as a Golden Eagle as he tallied his lowest 54-hole total of his career at 207. For Rattanayanon, the sophomore from Bangkok, Thailand, he ended with a 211-stroke total to earn his first Top 10 finish with a seventh-place tie.

Latter, a sophomore from Mississauga, Ontario, ended with a 220-stroke total to place tied for 33rd, while freshman Ryan Dupuy (Baton Rouge, La.) added a final-round 74 to place in a 44th-place tie with a 226 total.

“This tournament was a great team performance,” said Brescher. “Having four players post a winning record against the field is fantastic. Hunter played great golf each round to finish runner-up. Thongpipat had another great finish on the individual side. Robbie, Brice and Ryan played fantastic team golf to help us finish where we did. We are fired up to bring this same squad to our upcoming event next weekend.”

Senior Brice Wilkinson (Madison, Miss.) overcame a slow first-day start to record his second consecutive even-par 72 to collect a 226 and an 82nd-place tie, while Warwick Purchase, a sophomore from Pretoria, South Africa, who was playing as an individual, carded a 77 for a 227 total and a 94th-place tie.

The Golden Eagles registered their third-straight, under-par round to end the event with an 851 total. The tournament marked the first time since the LaTour Intercollegiate in February of 2020 that the team collected under-par scores in all three rounds.

LSU carded a 13-under 275 over its final round to capture the team title with an 841, besting UTSA by seven strokes and Southern Miss by 10.

Sam Murphy of Louisiana Tech won the individual medalist honors with a 203, beating Atkins by four strokes.

The Golden Eagles return to action when they travel to Bremerton, Wash., to compete in the Husky Invitational, hosted by the University of Washington at the Gold Mountain Golf Club.