May 15, 2009

SORRENTO, Fla. – Freshman Sam Braver fired his best round as a collegian Friday in the second round of the NCAA Southeast Regional, shooting 68 (-3) to lead South Carolina at the RedTail Golf Club. As a team, the Gamecocks faltered somewhat from their first-day showing, shooting a 287 (+3) to drop to 8-under par for the tournament and a tie for fifth place with Kentucky.

Braver, who got off to a rough start Thursday with a double-bogey at the second, would stay at par or better his entire round on Friday. He carded pars on his first six holes, then had birdies at holes seven and nine to make the turn at 2-under. He would three-putt for bogey at the par-3 11th, but got it right back with birdie at the 14th. Another bogey at the par-3 15th dropped him back to 1-under, but birdies at 16 and 18 gave him a strong finish and his best collegiate round by three strokes. At even par through 36 holes, Braver is tied for 31st overall. The freshman from Roswell, Ga., would be the only Gamecock to break par on this day.

George Bryan IV had an up-and-down day, to put it mildly. Despite a pair of double-bogeys on the front nine, the junior from Chapin, S.C. fired a 1-over 72 that included the aforementioned doubles, two bogeys and five birdies. After holing out from the bunker for a birdie at the second hole, he bogeyed the third, then hit his tee shot out of bounds on the fourth to take his first double-bogey. Bryan would then birdie the sixth to get back to 1-over, but promptly lost that momentum with his second double-bogey at the seventh. Ever the competitor, Bryan would come right back with birdie at No. 8 to make the turn at 2-over. He would remain bogey free through the 17th hole, carding birdies on both par 5s to get back to even par for the day, but a tough bogey at 18 would leave him at 1-over. Bryan is 1-under for the tournament and tied for 26th place.

Freshman Wesley Bryan wasn’t quite as up-and-down as his older brother, but he had his share of good and bad as well. Bryan would stand 4-over through six holes after a bogey at the second, a double at No. 5 and another bogey at the par-3 sixth. But he would not card another bogey over his next 11 holes, notching three birdies to get back to 1-over for the day. Another tough bogey at the 18th, however, would leave him with a 73 (+2) and drop him to 2-under for the tournament, tied for 21st place.

Patrick Rada got off to a strong start with a bogey-free, two-birdie front nine to make the turn at 2-under, but then found rough going on the back side with four bogeys and a double to finish the day at 3-over-par 74. And senior Mark Silvers III had a consistent round with three birdies and three bogeys, but one disastrous triple-bogey at the 10th hole left him at 3-over for the day, also with a 74. Rada is at even par for the tournament and tied for 31st, and Silvers is 1-over and tied for 37th.

Tournament host UCF continues to lap most of the field after a 277 (-7) Friday, moving them to 23-under for the tournament. However, Arizona stayed with them most of the day – even taking the lead at times – and stands only two shots back of the Knights at 21-under. Georgia, which began the day in seventh place, had the round of the day with a 275 (-9) and charged up the leaderboard to third place at 11-under, one shot ahead of Charlotte (-10). The Gamecocks are tied with Kentucky for fifth place at 8-under.

Much of Arizona’s success has been thanks to Tarquin MacManus, who followed up a 63 on Thursday with a 66 (-5) Friday; at 13-under, he leads by five shots heading into the final round of play. UCF’s David Johnson shot 68 (-3) Friday and is in second place at 8-under.

The Gamecocks will be paired with Charlotte and Kentucky for the final round of the NCAA Regional. The teams will go off the No. 1 tee at 8 a.m. Saturday, looking to grab one of five bids to the NCAA Championship. Live scoring can be accessed through golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTST21. Wesley Bryan - 67-73=140 (-2)T26. George Bryan IV - 69-72=141 (-1)T31. Sam Braver - 74-68=142 (E)T31. Patrick Rada - 68-74=142 (E)T37. Mark Silvers III - 69-74=143 (+1)
TEAM STANDINGS1. UCF - 268-277=545 (-23)2. Arizona - 270-277=547 (-21)3. Georgia - 282-275=557 (-11)4. Charlotte - 273-285=558 (-10)T5. South Carolina - 273-287=560 (-8)T5. Kentucky - 281-279=560 (-8)7. Iowa - 283-278=561 (-7)8. Georgia State - 282-280=562 (-6)9. Florida State - 277-286=563 (-5)10. Georgia Southern - 291-281=572 (+4)11. Campbell - 293-281=574 (+6)12. Augusta State - 282-293=575 (+7)13. Indiana - 294-284=578 (+10)14. Loyola (MD) - 284-302=586 (+18)