Oct. 25, 2005

WINDERMERE, Fla. – In a field that included 14 of the nation’s top 25 teams, the University of South Carolina men’s golf team finished seventh out of 18 teams on Tuesday at the UCF/Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, played at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla. Senior Eirik Johansen posted his third top-10 finish in as many outings this season, placing in a tie for eighth individually.

The Gamecocks completed the three-round tournament with a team score of 904. Top-ranked Georgia (GCAA Bridgestone Coaches’ Poll) took home the team title with a score of 872. The Bulldogs out-distanced second-place and No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State by seven strokes.

“It was a tough day. The golf course is extremely long and it wasn’t really set up for the conditions (20-30 mph winds),” head coach Puggy Blackmon said. “It was very difficult. We played solid on the last few holes. We were 12th when we got into the clubhouse and the longer we waited, we moved up (into seventh). It was a respectable finish, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Johansen fired a final-round 77 and finished the tournament at 220. The senior’s eighth-place finish marks the 16th time he has placed in the top 10 while competing at South Carolina.

Freshman Florian Fritsch shot 79 on Tuesday and tied for 32nd with a stroke total of 226. Freshman Mark Silvers, who was competing in his first collegiate varsity event, finished tied for 37th. Silvers carded a 79 in the final round and wrapped the tournament with a score of 228.

Sophomore Mark Anderson’s final round 77 tied Johansen for the best round of the day. Anderson placed in tie for 45th with a total score of 230.

Freshman Allen Koon tied for 82nd after shooting 85 in the final round.

Fourteen teams in the 18-team field appear in the latest GCAA/Bridgestone Coaches’ Poll. No. 20 South Carolina finished ahead of No. 23 Southern California, No. 25 New Mexico, No. 14 Kentucky, 11th-ranked UCLA, No. 19 Clemson, fourth-ranked UNLV and No. 15 Augusta State.

The Isleworth Invitational was originally scheduled to run Sunday through Tuesday with 18 holes to be played each day, but due to weather from Hurricane Wilma, two rounds were played on Sunday and play was suspended for Monday.

South Carolina is back in action, Nov. 4-6, at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga.

South Carolina IndividualsT8  Eirik Johansen        69=74-77=220T32 Florian Fritsch      69=78-79=226T37Mark Silvers     78-71-79=228T45 Mark Anderson      78-75-77=230T82 Allen Koon        81-78-85=244
Team Finish and Scores1 Georgia, 8722 Oklahoma State, 8793 Georgia Tech, 894T4 Arizona State, 899T4 Wake Forest, 8996 Duke, 9037 South Carolina, 9048 Southern California, 9059 New Mexico, 90910 Kentucky, 911T11 UCLA, 912T11 Clemson, 91213 Vanderbilt, 91315 UCF, 91414 UNLV, 91615 Stanford, 92516 Toledo, 942