Feb. 22, 2005

PONTE VEDRA, Fla.– The University of South Carolina men’s golf team placed in a tie for fifth at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla. after shooting a 6-over par 294 in the third round. They finished with a total score of 886 (+22) to finish 12 strokes behind champion Florida.

“We were right in it up until the 16th hole,” said head coach Puggy Blackmon. “We put up some big numbers and lost six shots on the last three holes, but I think our finish will help us come NCAA tournament selection time.”

Three South Carolina golfers finished the tournament tied for 11th place at 220 (+4). Junior Eirik Johansen led the Gamecocks in the third round with a one-under par 71 while freshman Mark Anderson shot a two-over par 74 and junior Robert Svensson fired a three-over par 75.

“Our nucleus played well,” stated Blackmon. “We’ve not had a lot of depth and we were not able to finish it off and win. We’ll go back to work and get our lineup ready for Las Vegas. “

Finishing with four other golfers in a tie for 55th place was junior West Streib with a total score 12-over par 228. Senior Jake Thompson rounded out the scoring for the Gamecocks in a tie for 76th place at 234 (+18) by shooting his lowest round of the tournament today with a 2-over par 74.

Full results of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship can be found at www.golfstatresults.com. South Carolina’s next tournament is the Las Vegas Invitational March 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nev.

TEAM RESULTS

1 Florida 292-302-280– 874 +10
2 Alabama 297-291-291– 879 +15
3 UCLA 292-300-291– 883 +19
4 Augusta State 293-303-288– 884 +20
T5 Tennessee 291-305-290– 886 +22
T5 South Carolina 286-306-294– 886 +22
7 LSU 288-307-295– 890 +26
8 North Florida 301-300-290– 891 +27
9 Kentucky 293-308-292– 893 +29
10 Duke 294-310-292– 896 +32
11 UCF 301-300-298– 899 +35
T12 Coastal Carolina 306-305-291– 902 +38
T12 Georgia State 293-318-291– 902 +38
14 Arkansas 300-312-296– 908 +44
15 UAB 299-309-301– 909 +45
16 Northwestern 308-320-295– 923 +59
17 Florida State 322-305-303– 930 +66

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

T11 Mark Anderson 72-74-74– 220 +4
T11 Eirik Johansen 72-77-72– 220 +4
T11 Robert Svensson 70-75-75– 220 +4
T55 West Streib 72-80-76– 228 +12
T76 Jake Thompson 79-81-74– 234 +18