April 14, 2005

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – South Carolina head coach Puggy Blackmon commented on this weekend’s SEC Championship. Here’s a look at what he had to say”

On his team heading into the 2005 SEC Championship: “We are going to have to play much better as a team if we are going to win a championship. We’ve been sporadic in the fourth and fifth positions. The problem with team golf is that when (the players in) your fourth and fifth positions have a mediocre or poor round, you’re fighting an uphill battle against deep fields like this one.”

“We’ve got a great opportunity this weekend. We have the firepower to be able to win this tournament. We will have to play at the highest level to beat teams like Georgia, Florida, Auburn and Kentucky, all of which are really strong depth-wise.”

On the SEC Championship Field: “This is the strongest field I have seen in 10 years at the SEC Championship. There are six or seven teams who have a legitimate chance to win a championship.”

On Carolina’s lineup: “I’m excited by Mark Anderson’s chance to an exclamation point on what has been a great season so far. Alex Hamilton and Eirik Johansen will certainly play a major role in a win. Warren Thomas played consistently well in qualifying and was very impressive in today’s practice round.”

On Friday’s Practice Round: “We had a good solid practice round today, and the guys seem very focused. I know we are close to a major breakthrough and hopefully this is the week.”

On the Sea Island Golf Club, Seaside Course: “It’s an incredible course; one of the best we have played all year. It’s well groomed and is a great test of golf. The best team will win.