TUPELO – The final round of the Mississippi State Amateur will have a heavy Ole Miss feel to it.
After three rounds at Tupelo Country Club, Ole Miss assistant golf coach Emerson Newsome leads the pack at 12-under, just one stroke ahead of one of his players, Kye Meeks. The two Rebels will play in Sunday’s final grouping along with Tucker Gutierrez, who’s in third at 10-under.
“To be competing is fun,” Newsome said, “but then to go up against one of your players is a cool treat, and can’t wait to go up there and battle with him tomorrow.”
• State Amateur leaderboard
Newsome and Meeks both struggled off the tee Saturday but were able to scramble. Newsome, who carded a 4-under 68 for the third straight round, made five birdies and two bogies on the front nine.
He played a bogey-free back nine and had a birdie on the par-5 13th hole.
“I hit the ball terrible today compared to the past two days but really putted the ball well, especially late in the front nine to keep me going,” Newsome said. “Then it was a lot of hanging on.”
Meeks, the reigning State Am champion, had six birdies and just one bogey en route to a 67. The Walnut native scrambled for a birdie on the 15th hole, and he made an up-and-down on the par-3 17th to save par.
“That’s something I pride myself on, is if I don’t hit it good, I can still post a decent number,” Meeks said.
Gutierrez, this year’s Junior Amateur champ, came out blazing on Saturday. He was 6-under through the first seven holes, which included an eagle on the par-4 fourth hole.
The 16-year-old from Madison bogeyed No. 9 and made the turn at 5-under 31. He made two birdies and a bogey down the stretch.
Gutierrez said he’s looking forward to competing against Newsome and Meeks. The trio will tee off at 11:20 a.m.
“It’s fun. It’s nice to know that I can play good golf with some stiff competition,” he said.
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