Fulton-Native McDonald To Continue Golf Career At Blue Mountain

FULTON, MS (ICC) – Itawamba Community College sophomore Andrew McDonald signed to continue his golf career and education at Blue Mountain College Monday.

“I’m real excited,” said McDonald. “Coming out of high school I probably would not have thought that I would be playing golf at the next level, but I’m thankful Coach (David) Rather gave me a chance at ICC so I can now continue at Blue Mountain.”

The Fulton native joined the ICC golf program his freshman year under Coach Rather after not playing on an organized team since eighth grade.

During his freshman season, the former two sport high school athlete, posted his best round by shooting a 76 at Meridian, that capped off a lot of hard work transitioning from the baseball field to the golf course.

“It took a lot of practice,” said McDonald. “Encouragement from my coaches and teammates, pushed me to get better and have made the past two years incredible.”

In the first half of his sophomore season, McDonald’s posted a team-best 74 in the second round at Co-Lin at to lead the Indians to a sixth place tie. He topped that at the next event by shooting a career low of 73 at Northwest.

“Andrew works hard and leads by example,” said ICC first year golf coach Cary Simmons. “He is a great student-athlete and has been important to our program and we’re excited to see him continue his career.”

McDonald’s success in and out of the classroom makes it a win-win situation for Toppers and could make a quick impact on the young squad.

“We’re excited about getting Andrew,” said Blue Mountain coach Kevin Barefield. “He’s a great golfer and he will do a lot of great things for us next year.”

Before continuing at Blue Mountain, McDonald still has the spring section of the season to wear the red and blue which has been more than a uniform for the last two seasons.

“I’ve been part of the ICC culture since I was kid,” said McDonald. “Being a part of it as a student, I’m really grateful for the opportunity ICC has given me to go to Blue Mountain, and I can’t be more excited.”

McDonald is the son of Jamie and Angie McDonald of Fulton and brother of LPGA Tour member Ally.