Ramey, Bulldogs Win Tiger Invitational

For 54 holes, Mississippi State and junior Chad Ramey dominated the field at the Grand National Golf Course, both capturing a win from the Tiger Invitational.

 The No. 41-ranked Bulldogs turned in a 889, 9-over-par to run away with the Tiger Invitational crown on Tuesday, beating out five other ranked squads. State won at Grand National by seven strokes.

 MSU lost to No. 21 Auburn at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, but this time around the Bulldogs caught the Tigers’ tail; two tiger tails to be exact, as State held off Memphis and host Auburn to win at Opelika. The win improved the Maroon and White to 74-25-1 on the year.

 “This was a super win for our program,” Coach Clay Homan said of the victory. “When you can go to Auburn and beat them on their home course says a lot about what kind of team we are developing into. I’m so proud of the maturity level of this group, because it wasn’t easy today. We had to battle for 36 holes under some very tough conditions.”

 The win from Grand National was the Bulldogs second on the year, giving coach Homan nine career-event wins at MSU. Homan is now in first-place all-time in career wins, passing former coach Greg Martin.

 Fulton, Miss., native Ramey picked up his first-career win at MSU with his 3-under par, 213.

 “It was just a matter of time before Chad got his much-deserved first win. This will only be the first of many wins for him, because he is a complete player,” Homan said of the junior’s play.

 Ramey overtook the top spot after finishing tied for sixth on Monday, but the Bulldog righty climbed up the leader board on Tuesday to capture his first tournament win. The junior knocked in 13 birdies on his way to victory.

 Fellow juniors Joe Sakulpolphaisan and Axel Boasson both posted a top-15 performance. Sakulpolphaisan has a team leading seven top-25 finishes on the year after his 8-over-par, 224 14th-place performance. Boasson turned in a 7-over-par, 223 to finish with a 10th-place tie.

 Rounding out the Maroon and White scoring from the Tiger Invitational was senior Robi Calvesbert and sophomore Fletcher Johnson. Calvesbert turned in a 13-over-par, 229 from Opelika to finish tied for 35th. The Tupelo, Miss., native Johnson fired off a 24-over-par, 240 at the Grand National course, finishing toed for 71 overall.

 Homan’s squad will head south to Tallahassee for the Seminole Intercollegiate to wrap up their spring break on March 15-17.