April 23, 2006

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The No. 24 University of South Carolina men’s golf team turned its best round of the weekend Sunday, firing a team total of 285 on the final day of the Southeastern Conference Championship, played at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course (Par 70 – 6,898 Yards). The Gamecocks placed eighth in the team standings, led by freshman Florian Fritsch’s top-15 individual showing.

“We played solid today. I’m not sure it was much different than the way we played the other two days,” head coach Puggy Blackmon said. “We dind’t make enough birdies like the other teams did during the weekend and we didn’t putt well. I’m impressed with this group because it would have been easy to throw in the towel, but they kept fighting and never quit. We’ve got to continue to develop that mental toughness.”

South Carolina’s contingent of one senior, one sophomore and three freshmen finished with a total score of 872, three strokes behind seventh-place Arkansas and four back of sixth-place LSU.

Fritsch shot a one-under 69, the best round of the weekend for the Gamecocks, on Sunday. He wrapped his first SEC Tournament with a total score of 213 (+3) and tied for 14th on the individual leader board, marking his fourth top-20 finish of the season. Sophomore Mark Anderson capped a consistent weekend with a one-over par 72. The Beaufort, S.C., product posted scores of 73-72-72=217 (+7) to tie for 27th.

Senior Eirik Johansen carded a 73 on Sunday and finished at 221 (+11), good for a tie for 40th. Redshirt freshman Patrick Cunning and freshman Allen Koon recorded their best rounds of the weekend as rookies shot two-over par 72s. Cunning finished in a tie for 47th while Koon was one stroke back and placed 51st.

No. 1 Georgia (827, -13) edged No. 3 Florida (828, -12) by one stroke to win the team title. The Gators’ Brett Stegmaier (205, -5) narrowly defeated Bulldog Brian Harman (206, -4) for individual medalist honors.

South Carolina has one regular season event remaining. The Gamecocks are set to compete at the Linger Longer Invitational, May 14-15, in Greensboro, Ga. NCAA Regional selections will be announced on May 8. Regional play is scheduled for May 18-20.

Team Results                                     ----Rounds---Pos.  Team            Today   Total   1    2    3    Total  1   Georgia          -11     -13   276  282  269    827  2   Florida          -11     -12   285  274  269    828  3   Alabama           +7      +9   280  282  287    849  4   Kentucky          +7     +15   292  276  287    855  5   Auburn            +3     +17   289  285  283    857  6   LSU              +12     +28   288  288  292    868  7   Arkansas          +6     +29   295  288  286    869  8   South Carolina    +5     +32   292  295  285    872  9   Tennessee        +19     +35   286  290  299    875 10   Vanderbilt       +11     +37   290  296  291    877 11   Miss. State       +1     +39   305  293  281    879 12   Ole Miss         +15     +46   290  301  295    886
South Carolina IndividualsT14  Florian Fritsch     71-73-69=213 (+3)T27  Mark Anderson 73-72-72=217 (+7)T40  Eirik Johansen   72-76-73=221 (+11)T47  Patrick Cunning 77-74-72=223 (+13)51   Allen Koon   76-76-72=224 (+14)