March 29, 2005

AWENDAW, S.C. – The No. 17 University of South Carolina men’s golf team picked up a seventh-place finish on Tuesday in the inaugural Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (Par 71 — 7,147 yards), played at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C. After an opening round 288 on Monday, the Gamecocks fired rounds of 296 and 297 to wrap up the tournament.

Senior Alex Hamilton led Carolina with a 10th-place finish on the individual leaderboard. Hamilton produced the best round of any Gamecock with a 68 in Monday’s opening round. The Aiken, S.C., native finished with a score of 218 over three rounds.

Junior West Streib finished two strokes behind Hamilton and tied for 20th with a three-round total of 220. Junior Eirik Johansen was one-stroke behind Streib at 221 and tied for 25th. Freshman Mark Anderson tied for 40th with a score of 225. Junior Robert Svensson carded a three-round total of 239 and tied for 71st.

Kentucky won the event by defeating Augusta State in a one-hole playoff. Both teams finished with 54-hole total of 866. Augusta State’s Scott Jamieson took home medalist honors with a three-day total of 205.

Other SEC teams in the field included Auburn (third), Georgia (fourth), LSU (fifth), Alabama (10th) and Vanderbilt (T13th). Clemson finished 12th.

The Gamecocks will be back in action next weekend at the Augusta State University Invitational presented by Administaff, which will be played at Forest Hills Golf Club (7,231 yards — par 72). After a practice round on Friday, April 1, tournament play begins on Saturday, April 2, with 36 holes and concludes on Sunday, April 3, with 18 holes.

SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALS
T10 Alex Hamilton, 68-70-80=218 (+5)
T20 West Streib, 71-76-73=220 (+7)
T25 Eirik Johansen, 76-72-73=221 (+8)
T40 Mark Anderson, 73-74-78=225 (+12)
T71 Robert Svensson, 83-78-78=239 (+26)

FINAL TEAM LEADERBOARD
1 Kentucky 290-287-289=866*
Augusta State 276-304-286=866
3 Auburn 288-298-284=870
4 Georgia 296-294-283=873
5 Louisiana State 299-287-290=876
6 Georgia Tech 290-297-293=880
7 South Carolina 288-296-297=881
8 Wake Forest 294-303-289=886
9 NC State 291-300-301=892
10 Alabama 299-292-302=893
11 Florida State 299-288-308=895
12 Clemson 303-302-291=896
13 Vanderbilt 300-297-306=903
North Carolina 300-307-296=903
15 College of Charleston 303-303-298=904

*Won in a one-hole play-off