Feb. 8, 2004

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Led by the play of sophomore Eirik Johansen and junior Jake Thompson, both of who are tied for the individual lead at 1-under-par, the South Carolina men’s golf team stormed a strong field on the opening day to take an 11-shot lead after 18 holes of play at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The 54-hole tournament is being contested at the par-72, 6,955-yard Sawgrass Country Club.

Johansen and Thompson led four Gamecocks in the event’s top-five as both carded three birdies en route to 1-under-par rounds of 35-36–71 and 36-35–71, respectively. That score ties them with Texas’ Jason Hartwick for the individual lead, one shot ahead of Florida’s Camilo Villegas (37-35–72). Thompson’s round was his best of the year, as the trio were the only players to break par on the day.

As a team, South Carolina carded a team round of even-par 288, which was the best round of the day as no teams in the field were able to break par. The Gamecocks’ total puts them 11 strokes ahead of top-ranked Florida (299) entering Monday’s second round of play.

Joining Johansen and Thompson in the top five are juniors Alex Hamilton and Martin Rominger, both of who are tied for fifth place after matching opening-round scores of 1-over-par, 36-37–73. The final member of the South Carolina contingent in the field is sophomore Robert Svensson, who is tied for 41st place at 40-39–79 after the first round.

The Mercedes-Benz Collegiate will continue on Monday with the second round of competition, before concluding on Tuesday with the final round of play. Full tournament results and live scoring are available at www.golfstatresults.com.

TEAM SCORES AFTER 18 HOLES1.  South Carolina  2882.  Florida 2993.  Tennessee   3034.  LSU 3055.  Clemson 3066.  Oklahoma State  3087.  Texas   3118.  Duke    314    Georgia 31410. NC State    31511. Auburn  317    Kentucky    31713. North Florida   31814. Northwestern    319    Augusta State   319    North Carolina  31917. Vanderbilt  32218. Florida State   326
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS AFTER 18 HOLES1.  Eirik Johansen, South Carolina   35-36--71    Jake Thompson, South Carolina 36-35--71    Jason Hartwick, Texas   36-35--714.  Camilo Villegas, Florida    37-35--725.  Dustin Bray, North Carolina 36-37--73    Alex Hamilton, South Carolina 36-37--73    Ross McGowan, Tennessee 38-35--73    Jessie Mudd, Florida    35-38--73    Jeff Reimann, LSU   38-35--73    Martin Rominger, S. Carolina    36-37--73    David Skinns, Tennessee 36-37--73
SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALST41.    Robert Svensson 40-39--79
-SC