MADISON, Wisc. – The Ole Miss men’s golf team will begin its 2022 fall season in Madison, Wisconsin with the team participating in the Badger Invitational hosted by Wisconsin. The Rebels hope to continue their strong play after their historic last season ended at the NCAA Championships.

In 2019 when the Rebels last made their way up to the Badger State, they found success with a third-place finish that was led by Jackson Suber, who shot a final round of 65 (-7) and earned a top-five finish. Sarut Vongchaisit also contributed with a top-10 finish.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Sunday, Sept. 11 – 18 holes (Rebels tee off at 9:15 a.m. CT)
Monday, Sept. 12 – 18 holes
Tuesday, Sept. 13 – 18 holes

THE LINEUP
Sarut Vongchaisit (Sr.)

• Appeared in all 11 of the Rebels’ 2021-22 tournaments last season
• Finished the 2021-22 season with a 72.10 stroke average
• Recorded a top-10 finish in 2019 at the Badger Invitational with a 4-under score
• Making his 36th career start for the Rebels
• Obtained second-best career finish at 2022 Cabo Collegiate Invitational at T12

Hugo Townsend (Gr.)

• Making his career debut as an Ole Miss Rebel
• Transfer from Boise State
• Two-time Mountain West Golfer of the Year in 2021 and 2022
• Named on 2022 Preseason Fred Haskins Award Watch List
• Earned Co-Medalist Honors at 122nd U.S. Open in stroke play

Cameron Tankersley (Fr.)

• Making his career debut as an Ole Miss Rebel
• Ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2022
• Went viral in May of 2021 after making the cut and qualifying for the Simmons Bank Open on the Korn Ferry Tour at the age of just 17 years old
• Runner-up at the 2021 Tennessee State Open
• Earned a top 5 finish at the 2021 Tennessee State Amateur Championship

Patton Samuels (Fr.)

• Making his career debut as an Ole Miss Rebel
• Ranked as the No. 2 recruit coming out of the state of Tennessee for the class of 2022
• Earned a ranking of No. 57 overall in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association Rankings
• Won two TSSAA Division II-A high school state championships while playing with Clarksville Academy in Tennessee
• Runner-up at the 2021 Gator Invitational in Jackson, Mississippi with a six-under par performance

Tom Fischer (Fr.)

• Making his career debut as an Ole Miss Rebel
• Ranked as the No. 2 recruit coming out of the state of Alabama for the class of 2022
• Named as the No. 115 overall recruit of 2022 by the Rolex American Junior Golf Association Rankings
• Two-time Alabama state champion with Mountain Brook High School
• Runner-up at the 2021 AJGA Canebrake Junior Tournament in Athens, Alabama

Kye Meeks (So.) (Individual)

• Competed in all 11 tournaments for the Rebels during the 2021-22 season
• Logged a 72.68 stroke average for Ole Miss in his freshman campaign
• Named to the 2022 SEC All-Freshman team, becoming the first Rebel freshman named to the team since Jackson Suber in 2018
• Recorded his career-best finish (T12) at the Mossy Oak Collegiate Invitational
• Collected his lowest 18-hole score of 68 at Cabo Collegiate Invitational

THE FIELD
Augusta
Campbell
Cincinnati
Illinois State
Marquette
Maryland
Nebraska
Northern Illinois
Ole Miss
Purdue
South Carolina
South Dakota State
South Florida
Texas A&M
UAB
Western California
Western Kentucky
Wisconsin

THE COURSE
Ranked No. 2 in the nation among the best collegiate golf courses by Golf Pass, the scenic ‘U Ridge’ is a par-72, 7,259-yard course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and features rolling hills and valleys overlooking the city.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH MALLOY
“We are extremely excited to get our season started. We have a lot of new faces in the lineup this week including three freshmen, so that is always nice to see. This will be a great challenge for us as we are getting on different grass in a different climate than we are used to here. I know that the guys will be ready to go Sunday.”

HUGO WITH HIGH RANKS
Grad transfer, Hugo Townsend, enters the Rebels’ lineup with high regard. Townsend was recently named to the 2022 Preseason Haskins Award Watch List. Townsend is one of 25 men’s golfers from around the country to earn the honors, with nine of them attending an SEC university. In August, Townsend finished in the Round of 16 in match play and earned co-medalist honors in stroke play at the 122nd U.S. Open. Townsend finished stroke play at 3-under to earn his co-medalist award tied with three other golfers, marking the highest total of medalists in U.S. Amateur history.

FRESHMEN DOMINATE LINEUP
The signing class of 2022 is making a name for themselves as all three freshmen are debuting at the season-opening tournament for the 2022-23 campaign. All three freshmen were ranked as top recruits from their respective states.

MALLOY HOPING TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM
Entering his ninth season as head coach, Chris Malloy hopes to lean on a promising roster to follow up a deep postseason run in 2021-22. Coming off of last season where the Rebels finished at 14th at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, marking the program’s second-highest team finish at the NCAA Championships.

NEXT ON THE TEE
Following this week’s stint in Madison, the Rebels will turn around and travel to Birmingham, Alabama to begin play in the SEC Match Play Championship (Sep. 25-27).

FOLLOW THE REBELS

For updates throughout the tournament, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Golf and on OleMissSports.com.