Sept. 1, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf team is ranked No. 7 in Golfweek’s preseason countdown of the top 30 Division I programs, Golfweek announced Monday.

The Gamecocks finished last season ranked No. 14 by Golfstat and No. 20 by Golfweek after one of the most successful years in program history. Carolina finished ninth at the NCAA Championship last year, which is the second-best finish at the event in program history. During the regular season, the Gamecocks matched the school record with nine top-five finishes in 12 events, including three tournament wins. At one point during the season, the Gamecocks reeled off a school-record seven straight top-three finishes.

Head coach Bill McDonald has all five golfers from last year’s postseason run returning in seniors Will Murphy and Caleb Sturgeon, juniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke and sophomore Ben Dietrich. Murphy garnered PING Honorable Mention All-America honors, while NeSmith was a PING All-Southeast Region and second-team All-SEC selection. Junior Sean Kelly also returns after sitting out last year to recover from an injury, giving South Carolina six golfers with NCAA Championship experience.

The Gamecocks opened the 2014-15 season over the weekend, finishing sixth at The Carmel Cup in Pebble Beach, Calif. Carolina will be back in action on Friday in the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga. You can see what Golfweek had to say about the Gamecocks HERE.