May 1, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf team is ranked No. 22 in the Golf World/Nike Coaches’ Poll, Golf World announced Wednesday.

The Gamecocks make their debut in the poll after an impressive performance at the SEC Championship, finishing two strokes back of No. 2 Alabama in second place with the lowest 54-hole SEC Championship score in school history (850). Individually, sophomore Caleb Sturgeon finished runner-up with a total of 205 (-5), which is the second lowest 54-hole SEC Championship score in school history.

South Carolina is one of nine SEC schools ranked in the poll. Alabama is No. 2, followed by No. 14 Arkansas, No. 15 Florida, No. 16 Georgia, No. 18 LSU, No. 19 Auburn, No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 24 Mississippi State.

The Gamecocks had one of their most successful regular seasons in recent history as they recorded five top-three finishes, including a win at the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic and a pair of runner-up finishes.

Carolina has locked up a postseason bid for the second-straight year and is waiting on the NCAA Regional pairings to be announced on May 6. The Gamecocks will be selected to compete in one of the following regionals: Baton Rouge, La., Tallahassee, Fla., Columbus, Ohio, Fayetteville, Ark., Pullman, Wash., or Tempe, Ariz.

Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches' Poll   Team             Points  Previous Rank1. California (21)      525     12. Alabama              504     23. Texas        470     44. UCLA         453     55. New Mexico           445     36. Washington           420     67. Stanford             378     78. TCU              376     89. Georgia Tech         363     910. Duke            331     1011. Southern California 307     1112. Oklahoma State      255     1813. Florida State       253     T-1514. Arkansas            238     1415. Florida         236     1216. Georgia         226     1317. North Florida       180     1718. LSU             160     T-1519. Auburn          154     2020. Texas A&M           110     2121. SMU             99      2222. South Carolina   82      NR23. Kent State          53      19T24. Mississippi State  48      NRT24. Saint Mary's   48      23