May 27, 2016
| Sean Kelly Round 1: 75 Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +5 Place: T-103rd |
| Matt NeSmith Round 1: 75 Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +5 Place: T-103rd |
| Will Starke Round 1: 67 Round 2: Round 3: To Par: -3 Place: T-1st |
| Keenan Huskey Round 1: 70 Round 2: Round 3: To Par: E Place: T-16th |
| Scott Stevens Round 1: 75 Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +5 Place: T-103rd |
EUGENE, Ore. — Senior Will Starke led the way as the University of South Carolina Men’s Golf team completed their opening round at the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on Friday. The Gamecocks shot 287 (+7) as a team and stand tied for 10th, while Starke posted a score of 67 (-3) and holds a share of the individual lead after 18 holes.
Arkansas and TCU lead the field through 18 holes, as each shot a round of 282 (+2) on Friday. San Diego State, Southern California and Vanderbilt round out the top five, just one stroke behind the leaders.
Starke has now led the NCAA Championship after one round of play twice in his Gamecock career. He shot a first-day 64 (-6) to top the 2014 Championship in Hutchinson, Kan., through 18 holes
Starke’s round of 67 included four birdies and only one bogey in challenging conditions on Friday. The senior’s score topped the leaderboard at the conclusion of the morning rounds, and it held up through the end of the afternoon session. Starke is tied with San Diego State’s Nahum Mendoza III and Vanderbilt’s Theo Humphrey atop the leaderboard.
Sophomore Keenan Huskey’s first career NCAA Championship round was a good one, as he shot 70 (E). The Greenville, S.C., native got off to a great start, with a birdie on the par-4 1st hole, and he finished with four on the day. He sits tied for 16th after one round.
A trio of Gamecocks shot 75 (+5) on Friday, and they share a tie for 103rd position through 18 holes. Matt NeSmith, Sean Kelly and Scott Stevens each shot 75 on their first trip across the difficult Eugene Country Club layout. Kelly and Stevens each birdied the par-5 4th hole.
Quoting Coach Bill McDonald
“It looked like Will drove the ball real well, and when he does that, with his length, he’s going to have a lot of short irons in his hand. Keenan as well… same thing for him; he had a lot of opportunities. The real key on this golf course is keeping the ball in the fairway, below the hole around the greens. So I think they both did a good job of that.”
Round Changer
Starke was bogey-free on his final 11 holes, and he was especially strong on the back nine. On what was the more challenging of the two sides on Friday, Starke shot a 32 (-2), including birdies on the 11th and 12th holes.
Notable
- NeSmith and Starke each made history on Friday, as they became the first Gamecocks to participate in four NCAA Championships during their collegiate careers.
- Starke’s 67 is the fifth-lowest score in South Carolina’s NCAA Championship history. The Chapin, S.C., native owns the record with his first-round 64 at the 2014 Championship in Hutchinson, Kan.
- The 67 from Starke is his second-lowest round of the season and his best score since March 8 at the Palmetto Intercollegiate.
- South Carolina was one of the steadiest teams in the field on Friday. Their 58 pars are second-most in the field.
Up Next for the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks will begin the second round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday at 12:42 p.m. PT. South Carolina will once again be paired with Arkansas and Oregon, and live scoring is available throughout the day on Golfstat.com.
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