March 27, 2006

AWENDAW, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s golf team fired a one-under-par 283 Monday and remained in second place following the second round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay Golf Club (Par 71 — 7,229 yards) in Awendaw, S.C. Redshirt freshman Patrick Cunning (Aiken, S.C.) led the Gamecocks with a career-best round of 67 and senior Eirik Johansen (Stavanger, Norway) sits in a tie for third, just four strokes off the individual leader.

South Carolina (279-283=562) trails tournament leader Wake Forest (275-277=552) by 10 strokes heading into the final round on Tuesday. Augusta State (296-269=565), which shot the best round (-15) of any team on Monday, is the only other team under par.

Cunning made a big move for South Carolina, jumping from a tie for 51st up to a tie for 12th. After firing a 76 on Monday, he made par on each of the front nine holes and collected four birdies on the back nine to secure the 67. Johansen shot a 70 to finish under par for the second straight day. The Gamecock captain sits at five-under for the tournament and is four strokes back of Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson, the individual leader.

Sophomore Mark Anderson (Beaufort, S.C.) shot a 72 on Monday and rose one spot into a tie for 12th. True freshmen Allen Koon (Bamberg, S.C.) and Florian Fritsch (Wiesloch, Germany) round the Gamecock lineup in a tie for 26th. Koon carded a 74, while Fritsch shot a 75.

The Hootie at Bulls Bay wraps up with the final round of play on Tuesday. Scoring updates are available online at www.golfstatresults.com.

South Carolina Individuals, Through Two RoundsT3  Eirik Johansen  67-70=137 (-5)T12 Mark Anderson    71-72=143 (+1)T12 Patrick Cunning    76-67=143 (+1)T26 Florian Fritsch    70-75=145 (+3)T26 Allen Koon  71-74=145 (+3)
Team Standings (Through Second Round)1 Wake Forest   275-277=552 (-16)2 South Carolina 279-283=562 (-6)3 Augusta State 296-269=565 (-3)4 UCF       289-282=571 (+3)5 North Carolina288-286=574 (+6)6 NC State      298-279=577 (+8)7 Virginia      297-281=578 (+10)T8 Clemson  293-286=579 (+11)T8 Vanderbilt   297-282=579 (+11)10 C of Charleston  293-291=584 (+16)11 Alabama  299-286=585 (+17)12 Florida State    293-296=586 (+18)T13 Kentucky    292-295= 587(+19)T13 LSU     300-287=587(+19)15 Auburn       296-295=591 (+23)