The University of Mississippi Athletics
Maturity and Experience: The Tom Fischer and Cameron Tankersley Journey
5/8/2026 | Men's Golf
By Jeff Roberson
OXFORD, Miss. – Tom Fischer and Cameron Tankersley have been through ups and downs, good times and tough times as collegiate golfers. The seniors are in their fourth season at Ole Miss, and right now their team appears to be at the top of its game.
In the last tournament of the regular season at Mossy Oak Golf Club in West Point, the Rebels let a big lead slip away on the back nine of the last day and were co-champions. Less than two weeks later they were standing as a team and holding the trophy as Southeastern Conference champions.
Maturity and experience, as well as talent throughout the lineup, took over in three rounds of stroke play and three grueling matches vs. Texas A&M, No. 1 Auburn, and No. 3 Florida. And the Rebels were champions of the SEC.
There are other aspects that contribute to the team's success, but being a veteran player on a mostly veteran team is an important factor.
"I'm sure I would have felt different out there if I was a freshman," Fischer said, a few days after the SEC Tournament. "I'm sure (freshman Daniel) Tolf felt that way a little bit. Everybody has different things that help them grow up when it comes to golf. I feel like I've had my share of those throughout my time here. It changes the bar of what you see as crazy, and you keep going and get more and more comfortable in all those situations."
He also said moments like winning the SEC is why he came to Ole Miss, especially since the commitment to win, the coaches, resources, and facilities, are all in place.
"When I was recruited it was 'What are your goals in golf?' Obviously that's to be the best player I can be and to win championships, SEC championships, national championships," Fischer said. "That's why we practice every day, why coach pushes us, why we push each other."
With early spring noise surrounding the program and a lengthy pause due to the ice storm of late January, the team continued to push through.
"I just think we're all close," Tankersley said. Obviously we're really good and we knew that. So we just ignored everything from the outside and just bonded, especially the last couple of months."
Ole Miss was out of school for two weeks during the ice storm, and the players carried on as best they could before tournament play resumed for the spring semester.
"We were all in different places trying to practice," Tankserley said. "I was in Pensacola, and the Trolios (Cohen and Collins) were in Sea Island. We were all excited to finally get back and be together."
"With the ice storm, I got to go play courses in some different places," Fischer said. "It was different not being around the guys as much, but everybody still found a way to get some things done. Everybody did what they needed to do on their own, just like we do over the summer and over normal winter breaks."
They pushed through with a successful season and continued to get better and better. January is a long time ago, and playing into June is now the focus.
"It'd be easy after SECs to get back out there and play again and ride the momentum," Fischer said. "But I think, if you ask each player, we all feel a little bit of a break will be good for us. The SEC Championship is something we talked about and is awesome to win. Now we've got a cool opportunity and we're playing well at the right time, so just ride that momentum and see what happens. It's important to fully believe we can win. When we show up, we genuinely feel we're as good as anybody."
"We didn't play as well at the beginning of the semester, kind of struggled," Tankersley said. "Then we had a breakthrough and played well. We're looking forward to the next month or so. The SECs were huge for us, and a confidence boost, knowing that we can beat any team. We beat some really good teams, top five teams."
And now the Ole Miss Rebels are out to prove in the NCAA Tournament that they are the best team of them all.
For updates throughout the season, follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Golf and on OleMissSports.com.
OXFORD, Miss. – Tom Fischer and Cameron Tankersley have been through ups and downs, good times and tough times as collegiate golfers. The seniors are in their fourth season at Ole Miss, and right now their team appears to be at the top of its game.
In the last tournament of the regular season at Mossy Oak Golf Club in West Point, the Rebels let a big lead slip away on the back nine of the last day and were co-champions. Less than two weeks later they were standing as a team and holding the trophy as Southeastern Conference champions.
Maturity and experience, as well as talent throughout the lineup, took over in three rounds of stroke play and three grueling matches vs. Texas A&M, No. 1 Auburn, and No. 3 Florida. And the Rebels were champions of the SEC.
There are other aspects that contribute to the team's success, but being a veteran player on a mostly veteran team is an important factor.
"I'm sure I would have felt different out there if I was a freshman," Fischer said, a few days after the SEC Tournament. "I'm sure (freshman Daniel) Tolf felt that way a little bit. Everybody has different things that help them grow up when it comes to golf. I feel like I've had my share of those throughout my time here. It changes the bar of what you see as crazy, and you keep going and get more and more comfortable in all those situations."
He also said moments like winning the SEC is why he came to Ole Miss, especially since the commitment to win, the coaches, resources, and facilities, are all in place.
"When I was recruited it was 'What are your goals in golf?' Obviously that's to be the best player I can be and to win championships, SEC championships, national championships," Fischer said. "That's why we practice every day, why coach pushes us, why we push each other."
With early spring noise surrounding the program and a lengthy pause due to the ice storm of late January, the team continued to push through.
"I just think we're all close," Tankersley said. Obviously we're really good and we knew that. So we just ignored everything from the outside and just bonded, especially the last couple of months."
Ole Miss was out of school for two weeks during the ice storm, and the players carried on as best they could before tournament play resumed for the spring semester.
"We were all in different places trying to practice," Tankserley said. "I was in Pensacola, and the Trolios (Cohen and Collins) were in Sea Island. We were all excited to finally get back and be together."
"With the ice storm, I got to go play courses in some different places," Fischer said. "It was different not being around the guys as much, but everybody still found a way to get some things done. Everybody did what they needed to do on their own, just like we do over the summer and over normal winter breaks."
They pushed through with a successful season and continued to get better and better. January is a long time ago, and playing into June is now the focus.
"It'd be easy after SECs to get back out there and play again and ride the momentum," Fischer said. "But I think, if you ask each player, we all feel a little bit of a break will be good for us. The SEC Championship is something we talked about and is awesome to win. Now we've got a cool opportunity and we're playing well at the right time, so just ride that momentum and see what happens. It's important to fully believe we can win. When we show up, we genuinely feel we're as good as anybody."
"We didn't play as well at the beginning of the semester, kind of struggled," Tankersley said. "Then we had a breakthrough and played well. We're looking forward to the next month or so. The SECs were huge for us, and a confidence boost, knowing that we can beat any team. We beat some really good teams, top five teams."
And now the Ole Miss Rebels are out to prove in the NCAA Tournament that they are the best team of them all.
For updates throughout the season, follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissMGolf. Additional updates and information on the team can be found on Instagram at OleMissMGolf, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Golf and on OleMissSports.com.
Players Mentioned
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