Dec. 4, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf team is ranked No. 25 in the final Golf World/Nike Coaches’ Poll of the fall season, Golf World announced Wednesday.

The Gamecocks enter the poll for the first time this year after one of the most successful fall seasons in program history. South Carolina recorded back-to-back tournament wins and a runner-up finish in four events, finishing the fall with a 43-10-1 head-to-head record.

Following a 10th-place finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate to open the season, South Carolina tied for second at the Rees Jones Invitational. The Gamecocks continued their solid play at the Badger Invitational, winning the event by 24 strokes. Junior Caleb Sturgeon claimed medalist honors to lead the way, finishing with a total of 206 (-10). In the final event of the fall, South Carolina captured the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic by 22 strokes, giving the program back-to-back tournament wins for the first time since 2003-04.

The Gamecocks will open their spring schedule on Feb. 21-23 at the Bayou City Collegiate Championships in Houston, Texas. The 54-hole event will be held at Redstone Golf Club.

Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' PollDec. 9, 2013 IssueDivision IRank    Team            Points  Last1.      Alabama (22)        550     12.      Georgia Tech        522     23.      California          497     34.      Oklahoma State      490     95.      Georgia         432     56.      Illinois            421     77.      Texas A&M           411     48.      UCF             391     199.      Stanford            373     810.     Virginia            335     1611.     UAB             310     1512.     Oklahoma            292     1113.     Virginia Tech       277     1214.     Washington          259     615.     UCLA            252     1316.     New Mexico          234     1017.     Houston         202     1818.     Texas           200     1419.     USF             181     NR20.     Vanderbilt          115     T-2421.     Kent State          105     1722.     Florida State       80      NR23.     Arkansas            66      2024.     USC             60      NR25.     South Carolina   34      NR