April 12, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s golf team will compete this weekend at the SEC Championship, played in St. Simons Island, Ga., April 15-17. For the second straight year, teams will play at Sea Island Golf Club on the Seaside Course (Par 70- 6,885 yards). After a practice round on Thursday, the Championship begins on Friday and continues through Sunday. A total of 18 holes are scheduled for each day.

As of April 10, 10 of the 12 Southeastern Conference teams were ranked in Golfweek’s top 50 in the nation. Georgia leads all teams at second in the nation, with Florida and Auburn also in the top 10 at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Tennessee is currently No. 16 and Kentucky comes in at No. 18 while South Carolina holds down the No. 20 spot. The rest of the top-50 teams include No. 23 Alabama, No. 35 LSU, No. 45 Arkansas and No. 50 Ole Miss. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State appear in Golfweek’s top 100 at No. 53 and No. 86, respectively.

Gamecock freshman Mark Anderson sits at No. 19 in the Individual rankings. Junior Eirik Johansen squeezes in the top 100, at No. 97.

The Gamecocks finished seventh at the 2004 SEC Championship. Alex Hamilton led the way for USC firing a one-over par 211 and finishing tied for fifth. Georgia took home the team title, edging second-place Florida by one stroke.

South Carolina’s best team showing in the SEC Championship came in 1998 when the Gamecocks finished as runner-up to Florida by just one stroke. USC’s Eric Ecker earned medalist honors that year, the best finish by a Gamecock individual in the SEC Championship.