Gamecock Men In Eighth After Day One Of SEC Championship
April 21, 2017
Keenan Huskey Round 1: 69 Round 2: 70 Round 3: — To Par: -1 Place: T-10 |
Scott Stevens Round 1: 71 Round 2: 70 Round 3: — To Par: +1 Place: T-24 |
Jamie Wilson Round 1: 72 Round 2: 73 Round 3: — To Par: +5 Place: T-35 |
Ryan Stachler Round 1: 70 Round 2: 77 Round 3: — To Par: +7 Place: T-46 |
Will Miles Round 1: 73 Round 2: 73 Round 3: — To Par: +6 Place: T-41 |
St. Simons Island, Ga. — After 36 holes of the 2017 SEC Men’s Golf Championship, South Carolina sits in 8th place (9-over) in a loaded 14-team field of some of the nation’s top college golf programs. The Gamecocks shot 283 (+3) in round one after teeing off on the back nine beginning at 8:30 a.m. Conditions got tough as the wind picked up for round two, and Carolina’s young team was able to grind out a 286 (+6). Junior Keenan Huskey paced the team on day one, and he sits T-10th at 1-under par.
Huskey started 2-over through his first five holes in round one, but bounced back and shot 3-under the rest of the way thanks to five birdies, which led the team the first 18 holes. The Greenville, S.C., native, fired a second round 70 (E) to remain at 1-under for the tournament.
Sophomore Scott Stevens is T-24th and 2-over. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native, shot 72 (+2) to start the day with a pair of birdies in the round. Stevens was on fire to start the second 18 holes, as he shot a 3-under 32 on the front nine. He tallied a 38 (+3) down the stretch to finish the second round at even par (70). Both Stevens and Huskey came into the weekend ranked in the top-15 of the league in 18-hole scoring average and the Golfstat individual player rankings.
Freshman Jamie Wilson, who has been a staple in the starting lineup this spring, opened with a 72 (+2). He shot 38 (+3) on the front nine in the second round but finished strong in difficult conditions with an even par 35 on the back nine. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native is T-35th at 5-over.
Sophomore Will Miles shot a pair of 73s and is T-41st. The Hilton Head Island, S.C., native, finished second on the team with four birdies. Sophomore Ryan Stachler carded a solid even par 70 in the first round. He finished with a 77 (+7) and is T-46th.
No. 15 Texas A&M sits atop the leaderboard after shooting 555 (-5) in first 36 holes. No. 3 Vanderbilt (-3) and No. 6 Florida (-2) round out the top-three. They’re the only schools under par for the tournament as a team. Alejandro Tosti of Florida, the 18th ranked player in the country, has a one shot lead in the invidual standings after shooting 64 (-6) and 69 (-1) to get to 7-under.
Round Changer Keenan Huskey
Huskey’s two solid scores give him 19 rounds of par or better this season, which leads the team. He led the field in Par 5 scoring average at 4.25 (-3) and is T-1st in Par 3 scoring average at 2.88 (-1). His team-leading eight birdies are T-6th in the tournament field.
Quoting Coach Bill McDonald
“Our performance was pretty solid overall. We lost a few shots coming in, but the wind was humming pretty good. The 18th hole was playing almost like a Par 5. It got pretty tough out there. We’re in a good position heading into tomorrow. I’m proud of the guys for the way they come out and fought today. We’re not in a bad place at all, and a good round tomorrow gets us into match play.”
Notable
- The Gamecocks had 121 pars and 23 birdies in the first 36 holes.
- Chandler Phillips of Texas A&M was the only player in the tournament to record an eagle in the first two rounds.
- With a top-eight finish after the third round of stroke play on Saturday, South Carolina will earn a spot in the first ever match play portion of the SEC Men’s Golf Championship.
Up Next for the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks will be paired with No. 19 Auburn and No. 23 Ole Miss in the final round of stroke play on Saturday. Carolina has an early tee time as Stachler will kick things off for the Gamecocks at 7:30 a.m. on hole one.