Gamecocks T-12th Through Two Rounds at Augusta Invitational

April 5, 2014

Results

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The South Carolina men’s golf team shot rounds of 300 (+12) and 284 (-4) on Saturday in the first two rounds of the Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club.

The Gamecocks will head into Sunday’s final round in a tie for 12th place with Coastal Carolina with a total of 584 (+8) and are 20 strokes back of co-leaders Texas and UCF. The Longhorns and Knights finished the day with a total of 564 (-12).

Sophomore Matt NeSmith led the way on Saturday and closed out the afternoon in a tie for 15th with a total of 142 (-2). After shooting a 74 (+2) in the morning, NeSmith bounced back nicely with a 4-under 68 in the second round, which included six birdies and just two bogeys.

Junior Will Murphy sits just outside the top 20 in a tie for 21st with a total of 143 (-1). A native of Columbia, S.C., Murphy matched NeSmith in the first round with a 74 and made the move up the leaderboard with a 3-under 69 in the afternoon. His round included an eagle on the par-5 sixth, four birdies and three bogeys.

Freshman Ben Dietrich carded rounds of 77 (+5) and 72 (E) to wrap up the day in a tie for 53rd with a total of 149 (+5). Junior Caleb Sturgeon and sophomore Will Starke are tied for 62nd and 65th, respectively. Sturgeon shot rounds of 76 (+4) and 75 (+3) for a total of 151 (+7), while Starke posted back-to-back rounds of 76 (+4) for a total of 152 (+8).

Virginia Tech is one shot back of UCF and Texas in third place with a total of 565 (-11), while Illinois (569) and Houston (571) round out the top five. UCF’s Greg Eason and Virginia Tech’s Scott Vincent share the individual lead with a total of 137 (-7).

The Gamecocks will tee off in the third round beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday and will be paired with Tennessee and New Mexico. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTST15. Matt NeSmith (3)       74-68=142 (-2)T21. Will Murphy (4)     74-69=143 (-1)T53. Ben Dietrich (5)       77-72=149 (+5)T62. Caleb Sturgeon (1)       76-75=151 (+7)T65. Will Starke (2)     76-76=152 (+8)
TEAM STANDINGST1. UCF             287-277=564 (-12)T1. Texas           284-280=564 (-12)3. Virginia Tech        280-285=565 (-11)4. Illinois             288-281=569 (-7)5. Houston          282-289=571 (-5)6. Baylor           282-291=573 (-3)7. Purdue           292-283=575 (-1)8. GRU Augusta          292-285=577 (+1)9. Clemson          284-294=578 (+2)10. Tennessee           296-283=579 (+3)11. New Mexico          295-286=581 (+5)T12. South Carolina      300-284=584 (+8)T12. Coastal Carolina       291-293=584 (+8)14. TCU             293-299=592 (+16)15. S. Carolina-Aiken       304-293=597 (+21)