May 22, 2004

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The South Carolina men’s golf team was unable to build on a solid front nine and fell back one spot to finish in 17th place at the NCAA East Regional in New Haven, Conn. The 54-hole tournament was contested at the par-70, 6,749-yard Course at Yale. The top-10 teams from the event advanced to the NCAA Championships on June 1-4 in Hot Springs, Va.

As a team, the Gamecocks finished with a score of 297 in the final round for a 54-hole total of 299-293-297-889. That score was well off the pace of team champion Clemson, which carded the only sub-par round of the tournament on Saturday with a 3-under-par, 277, to finish at 16-over-par, 288-291-277-856.

Junior Martin Rominger was the top individual finisher for the Gamecocks, as he was one of 10 players tied for 31st place at, 74-70-75-219. That total was 12 shots behind individual medalist Bill Haas of Wake Forest, who continued his solid play and qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championship at 3-under-par, 67-70-70-207.

The next South Carolina individual in the field was junior Jake Thompson, who carded his second-straight 72 on Saturday to finish tied for 66th place at 80-72-72-224. Sophomore Eirik Johansen was the next Gamecock in the field as he placed in a tie for 85th place at 73-74-81-228. Junior Alex Hamilton (76-79-74-229) and sophomore Robert Svensson (76-77-76-229) both finished as part of a tie for 90th place.

South Carolina completes its season with a school-record-tying, three team titles and a pair of individual crowns. Full tournament results from the NCAA East Regional are available at www.golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALST31.    Martin Rominger 74-70-75-219T66.    Jake Thompson 80-72-72-224T85.    Eirik Johansen   73-74-81-228T90.    Alex Hamilton 76-79-74-229    Robert Svensson 76-77-76-229