March 21, 2004

STATESBORO, GA — Junior Alex Hamilton carded his second-straight sub-par round on Sunday to help the South Carolina men’s golf team to a third-place finish in a strong field at the Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational in Statesboro, Ga. The 54-hole tournament was contested at the par-72, 6,962-yard Forest Heights Country Club.

Hamilton moved up 22 spots in the individual standings on the final day, as he posted a final-round score of 2-under-par, 70 in difficult scoring conditions to finish among four players tied for 10th place at even-par, 78-68-70=216. That score was nine shots off the pace of individual medalist Matt Every of Florida, who finished at 9-under-par, 67-72-68=207.

As a team, the Gamecocks were unable to improve on a solid second round, but handled the tough conditions admirably, finishing with the fourth-best team round of the day to move up two spots in the standings. South Carolina completed play in the event with a 7-over-par score of 292-282-297=871. That total was 12 shots off the blistering pace of team champion Florida, which was the lone team under par at 5-under-par, 280-290-289=859.

Sophomore Eirik Johansen was the next Gamecock individual in the field, as he finished as part of a seven-way tie for 17th place at 2-over-par, 70-74-74=218. Fellow sophomore Robert Svensson and junior Martin Rominger followed Johansen, as both were among nine players tied for 25th place with scores of 73-71-76=220 and 73-70-77=220, respectively. The final member of the South Carolina contingent in the field was sophomore Jake Thompson, who tied for 47th place at 76-73-77=226.

The Gamecocks will return to action on March 29-=30, when they travel to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the Atlanta Intercollegiate. Full tournament results from the Schenkel E-Z-GO Intercollegiate are available at www.golfstatlive.com.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS1. Florida 280 290 289 -- 8592. Georgia 289 286 294 -- 8693. South Carolina 292 282 297 -- 8714. Duke 285 286 301 -- 8725. Augusta State 289 285 302 -- 8766. Clemson 297 283 298 -- 8787. Louisiana State 287 290 302 -- 879T8. Southern Cal 285 295 301 -- 881T8. Wake Forest 287 282 312 -- 88110. Ohio State 290 283 309 -- 88211. Ga. Southern 295 288 301 -- 88412. N.C. State 305 289 296 -- 89013. North Carolina 297 291 304 -- 89214. Tennessee 295 290 308 -- 89315. Auburn 295 292 308 -- 895
FINAL TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS1. Matt Every, Florida 67 72 68 -- 2072. Bill Haas, Wake Forest 68 64 77 -- 2093. Chris Kirk, Georgia 68 70 74 -- 2124. Nathan Smith, Duke 71 72 70 -- 213T5. Colin Biles, Ohio State 70 71 73 -- 214T5. Scott Oxandaboure, Southern Cal 68 73 73 -- 214T5. Camilo Villegas, Florida 70 72 72 -- 214T8. Jessie Mudd, Florida 71 72 72 -- 215T8. Martin Ureta, UNC 70 70 75 -- 215T10. Alex Hamilton, South Carolina 78 68 70 -- 216T10. Major Manning, ASU 71 69 76 -- 216T10. Stephen Poole, Clemson 74 70 72 -- 216T10. Kurt Watkins, GSU 72 70 74 -- 216
SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALST17. Eirik Johansen 70 74 74 -- 218T25. Martin Rominger 73 70 77 -- 220        Robert Svensson 73 71 76 --220T47. Jake Thompson 76 73 77 -- 226