Sept. 23, 2011

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The South Carolina men’s golf team shot a 291 (+7) and is in eighth place after Friday’s first round of the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club South Course.

Friday proved to be a tough scoring day for the field, as only 10 golfers recorded rounds under par and none of the 14 teams finished in red numbers.

“It was a position day more than anything,” said South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald, whose team is seven strokes off the lead. “We are not where we want to be but we can get back in this thing pretty quickly if we can get off to a good start on Saturday.”

Senior Wesley Bryan and junior Dykes Harbin posted the lowest scores for the Gamecocks with a pair of even-par 71s. Bryan and Harbin are in a large group in a tie for 11th.

Bryan got off to a strong start with three birdies in his first four holes. After recording par on holes five, six and seven, the Chapin, S.C., native bogeyed the eighth and made par on the ninth to make the turn at 1-under. He made bogey on the 10th and 17th holes to move to 1-over but he closed out his round with a birdie on No. 18 to wrap up his round at even.

“(Bryan) just got up and down from everywhere the last four or five holes,” McDonald said. “It was an up and down round for him.”

Harbin struggled on the front side as he recorded four bogeys and five pars to make the turn at 39 (+4). However, he regained his composure on the back side with birdies on holes 11, 14, 15 and 17 on his way to a 4-under 32 to wrap up the day at even.

“Dykes got of to a rough start after losing his tee shot on the first hole,” McDonald said. “But I was really proud of the way he gutted that out and put together a low number on the back nine.”

Sophomore Caulder Moore carded a 74 (+3) and is tied for 38th. Moore recorded two birdies, two bogeys and five pars on the front nine to make the turn at even but he was unable to produce a birdie on the back side and made three bogeys to conclude the day at 3-over.

In his first career tournament, freshman Sean Kelly posted a 75 (+4) and is in a tie for 47th. Kelly was even through six holes but made the turn at 38 (+3) after a triple bogey at the seventh. Kelly rebounded with a solid back nine, making eight pars and only one bogey to shoot 37 (+1).

Sophomore Blaine Woodruff was 1-over heading to the back nine, but a pair of double bogeys at holes 13 and 14 held him back from having a stellar round. Woodruff finished the day with a 76 (+6), leaving him in a tie for 59th.

“Blaine had a tough day,” McDonald said. “That was uncharacteristic of him, but I know he will come back strong.”

Georgia Southern shot a 284 (E) to finish the day atop the leaderboard. Oklahoma and Middle Tennessee State each shot 285 (+1) and are tied for second. Mississippi’s Joe David, Oklahoma’s Charlie Saxon, Davidson’s Richard Fountain and Georgia Southern’s Scott Wolfes each fired a 2-under 69 to finish the day in a tie for first in the individual standings.

Second-round play is slated to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T11 Wesley Bryan 71 (E)
T11 Dykes Harbin 71 (E)
T38 Caulder Moore 74 (+3)
T47 Sean Kelly 75 (+4)
T59 Blaine Woodruff 76 (+5)