Homan captures second-straight state championship
Clay Homan
Mississippi State men's golf head coach Clay Homan won his second-straight Mississippi Golf Association state amateur championship title June 10 at Reunion Golf and Country Club.
The win, the fourth of Homan's career, gave the Maroon & White a sweep of the 2012 state titles as Lady Bulldog standout Ally McDonald captured the women's championship earlier this month.
After shooting 71 and 73 in the first two rounds at the 72-par course, Homan used a 64-under par third round to rocket to the top of the leaderboard. The MSU head coach carded eight birdies and played bogey-free golf to end the third at 8-under par after starting the day at even.
"It's always exciting to shoot low," Homan said of his third round performance. "To shoot low, you have to make a lot of putts. I was making a lot of putts that I wasn't making in the first and second rounds."
Three bogeys on the front nine in Sunday's final round dropped him to 5-under par, but the Bulldog coach stormed back with four birdies on the back nine, including three-straight on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes.
"It's fun to win, but it was tough today," Homan said. "I didn't play my best today, especially to start, but I was able to turn it around on the back nine."
Homan shot 1-under par on Sunday to top the final leaderboard at 9-under par. Homan achieved the first repeat since Rett Crowder won four times in a row from 1998-2001.
Two of Homan's Bulldogs also recorded top-five finishes. Star sophomore Chad Ramey, fresh off an appearance in the NCAA Regionals, placed fourth with a 289, while freshman Fletcher Johnson tied for fifth with a 2-over par 290.
"I play with these guys all the time, so it's nothing new at all," Homan said of playing with Ramey and Johnson. "I'm always rooting for these guys. They represent Mississippi State just like I do, and I want to see them succeed."
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