Benjamin Fernandez's 66 Propels Southern Miss to Fourth at Blessings

Saturday, October 3

Fayetteville, Ark.

Southern Miss

Arkansas

Benjamin Fernandez's 66 Propels Southern Miss to Fourth at Blessings

10/3/2026 6:32:00 PM | Men's Golf

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Benjamin Fernandez set the pace for Southern Miss in round one of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Saturday. Fernandez sits alone atop the individual leaderboard after round one at Blessings Golf Club, leading Southern Miss to fourth place as a team.

Benjamin Fernandez opened with a six-under 66, recording seven birdies against one bogey. The Paraguay native went two-under on the front nine and added a four-under 32 on the back, closing with three birdies on a four-hole stretch. He tied for the field lead on par-5 holes alongside BJ Boyce of UNC Greensboro and Niilo Maki-Petaja of Arkansas, playing them at four-under for a 4.00 average, and his seven birdies tied for second in the field.

Jake Moffitt carded an even-par 72 and tied for 11th place. Moffitt went two-under on the front nine with birdies on holes 2 and 8, then added birdies on holes 15 and 17 on the back. He tied Kansas State's Ville Virkkala for the best par-3 scoring average in the field at 2.50, playing those holes at two-under.

John Markow shot a four-over 76 to sit tied for 27th, making birdies on holes 11 and 17. Franco Fernandez and Supakorn Amornchaichan each finished at five-over 77 and tied for 31st. Franco Fernandez was even par through the front nine with a birdie on the par-5 fifth, and his 13 pars tied for the most in the field. Amornchaichan birdied two par 5s, holes 2 and 15, and played the back nine at one-over 37.

Southern Miss ended the day at three-over par, two strokes behind third-place UNCG and five strokes ahead of fifth-place Kansas State. Host Arkansas leads the field at 15-under par, followed by North Texas at two-under.

Round two will be played on Oct. 4, starting at 8:15, with live scoring available by CLICKING HERE.

Individual Leaderboard

1. Benjamin Fernandez | 66 (-6)

T11. Jake Moffitt | 72 (E)

T27. John Markow | 76 (+4)

T31. Supakorn Amornchaichan | 77 (+5)

T31. Franco Fernandez | 77 (+5)

Team Leaderboard

1. Arkansas

2. North Texas

3. UNCG

4. Southern Miss