Ole Miss takes confidence and belief into the Bermuda Run Regional

Chris Malloy always believed in his players but after the Spring season the Ole Miss men’s golf team experienced, his players needed a little proof of concept to get full belief in themselves.

Not that they did not already have confidence in their abilities, but to see that as a team it is still one of the best in the nation and capable of running it back to compete for a national championship one year removed from reaching the semifinals.

The historic week that was in the run up to the program’s first SEC championship since 1984 was the just what the Rebels needed to have that little extra edge heading into this week’s Bermuda Run Regional.

“They just walk around a little bit differently,” Malloy said last week. “Confidence is just such a big part of any sport. We talked about momentum, confidence, just such a big part in our sport and to feel like they belong. For a guy like Collins Trolio to kind of go from just being one of the guys, going out and really having such a good run, especially in the match play portion of the SEC Tournament. I think it gives them confidence. We can sit there as coaches, say what we want, but for them to actually have that success is such a big part of it.”

Ole Miss is the 2 Seed of the Bermuda Run Regional, which is being played at the Bermuda Run Country Club just 13 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Virginia is the 1 Seed of the regional while host team Wake Forest is the 6 Seed. Pepperdine, Georgia Tech and Southern California round out the top five seeds of the Regional.

Two more SEC teams are in the regional along with the Rebels. Mississippi State is the 7 Seed and Kentucky is the 10 Seed of the 14-team field. The top five teams after three rounds will advance to the National Championships held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California starting May 29.

A two-week stretch of success was enough for the Ole Miss golfers to also see they can do it short-handed

Since January the Rebels have been without last year’s individual national champion Michael La Sasso after he signed with LIV Golf.

They did not show signs of missing its top player as other guys stepped up, including Tom Fischer. The Mossy Oak Challenge, which served as the final regular season tournament, was more proof of concept that Fischer and his other four teammates can still reach the success they are chasing this month.

Fischer finished as a co-medalist and Ole Miss finished tied for first in West Point. The following week the SEC championship trophy came back to Oxford.

“I think it’s been, probably from the outside, looked pretty up and down. Like a roller coaster,” Fischer said last week. “But I think within the locker room and within the guys it’s been pretty steady. Everybody’s super close and kind of goes about their business on a daily basis and I think you’re starting to see that payoff a little bit. It might have taken a little longer than we wanted. Still have a lot of goals to achieve but I think that’s kind of what you all are seeing in that paying off.”

Ole Miss will get the Bermuda Run Regional started as one of the first three teams to tee off. The Rebels will start at 6:30 a.m. CT with the last group going off at 7:14 a.m. CT on Monday. They are paired with Virginia and Pepperdine in the first five threesomes of the morning.