Gamecocks Set For Fall Season Finale In Hawaii

Nov. 3, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s golf team travels 4,624 miles west this weekend to compete in the final tournament on the team’s fall schedule, the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic. The tournament, which is set to be played at Ka’anapali Golf Club in Lahaina, Hawaii, runs Friday through Sunday.

Every round of the 54-hole stroke-play event will begin with a shotgun start at 2:30 p.m. ET.

“It’s always nice to come to Maui,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “If the forecast holds, it appears we will have some pretty strong winds to play in much like last year. The greens are grainy as well, but the golf course is in excellent condition overall. I’m looking forward to seeing how the team responds from a disappointing finish at Camden. We will be tested this week, as it’s an excellent field as always.”

Carolina has finished in the top-five in two of its three tournaments this fall and will look to finish strong in Hawaii. The team is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Camden Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 22-23. Junior Keenan Huskey shot 5-under-par and earned runner-up medalist honors at the event. Huskey has finished in the top-20 in all three tournaments this fall. He shot 64 (-6) in round two for the second time this season. His two 64s in 2016 are tied for the fourth-lowest 18-hole score in program history.”

The Gamecocks got back on track at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate on Sept. 23-25 after a tough outing to start the year at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. The team took fifth overall at the Maui Jim after shooting 13-under-par. Carolina was led by standout sophomore Scott Stevens, who shot the third best 54-hole score in school history with a 198 (-15). Stevens earned runner-up medalist honors, good for the best individual finish of his career.

HISTORY AT THE KA’ANAPALI COLLEGIATE CLASSIC

South Carolina finished fifth last season at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic after shooting 864 (+12). Oklahoma won the tournament with a final score of 837 (-15). Georgia, who finished second, was the only other team to shoot under-par at 849 (-3).

Keenan Huskey led the way for the Gamecocks at last year’s event, shooting three-under par (210). He shot a team 18-hole low score of 69 (-2) in round two.

Will Miles and Scott Stevens were also in the lineup for the Gamecocks. Stevens tied for 44th after shooting 8-over and Miles tied for 49th after finishing 9-over.

TOURNAMENT FIELD

This year’s Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic features five more teams than last season. It is consistently one of the best fall tournaments in the country. The strong field features seven top-40 teams, including South Carolina. No. 7 Oklahoma, the defending champion, headlines that group.

No. 13 LSU and No. 15 Georgia are the other fellow SEC schools playing in the event. Instate rival No. 24 Clemson will also be playing in this year’s tournament.

RECAPPING THE 2015-16 SEASON

South Carolina advanced to its fourth straight NCAA Championship after a second place finish at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional behind SEC foe Georgia. At the NCAA Championship, the Gamecocks sat in 14th place heading into the final round of stroke play.

The team finished seventh after shooting a final round 277 (-3) to advance to the match play portion of the event for the first time in school history. The seventh-place finish was the team’s highest ever in stroke play at the NCAA Championship. In match play, the Gamecocks fell to eventual national runner-up Illinois, 4-1. Then-freshman Scott Stevens earned the lone point for the Gamecocks.

Three of the five players from Carolina’s NCAA Championship squad, Sean Kelly, Matt NeSmith and Will Starke, have graduated and moved on to the Canadian PGA Tour. Keenan Huskey and Scott Stevens return for the Gamecocks this season. The team’s final Golfstat ranking was 10th, marking the second-straight top-10 finish for the program.

MCDONALD’S 18

Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald is the winningest coach by tournament victories in school history with 18. McDonald broke the previous record of nine held by Puggy Blackmon (1995-2007) with Carolina’s win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in September 2014. McDonald captured a school-record five wins in 2014-15 and snagged his latest victory at the 2016 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina will be off for the next three months before the start of the spring season. The Gamecocks will be back in action February 17 when the team travels to Humble, Texas for the All-American Intercollegiate.