April 7, 2006

The South Carolina men’s golf team makes its way west for the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational this week. The tournament tees off on Saturday, April 8, with 36 holes and concludes on Sunday, April 9, with the final 18 holes. There will be a shotgun start on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. MST. Regular tee times from holes 1 and 10 begin at 8 a.m. MST on Sunday. The tournament will be played at the Karsten Golf Club (Par 72 — 7,037 yards) in Tempe, Ariz.

This is the final event for the Gamecocks before they compete in the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship, set for April 21-23 at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.

HOW TO GET RESULTS
At the conclusion of play each day, results and a recap of the Gamecocks’ performance will be available on Carolina’s official athletics web site, www.uscsports.com. Due to the three-hour time difference, results may not be posted until late night.

CAROLINA LINEUP
Head coach Puggy Blackmon will use the same lineup for the third straight tournament. That group includes a senior, a sophomore a redshirt freshman and a pair of true freshmen.

Player   Tourneys    Rounds  Stroke Avg. Low Rd.1. Eirik Johansen 8   24  72.71   672. Florian Fritsch   7   21  73.38   683. Mark Anderson   8   24  75.88   714. Allen Koon 5   15  76.13   715. Patrick Cunning   4   12  74.75   67

THE ASU THUNDERBIRD FIELD
South Carolina will see a host of teams for the first time this season at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kansas State, Oregon, Penn State and San Diego State. Stanford, UNLV, Texas Tech and UCF will join host Arizona State, who has two teams competing.

Four of the teams appear in this week’s Golf Stat rankings: No. 9 UNLV, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 16 South Carolina and No. 22 Texas Tech.

MORE ON THE ASU THUNDERBIRD INVITATIONAL
Host Arizona State has won five of the last seven team titles and a total of 12 in 17 years at the Thunderbird Invitational. In 2005, UNLV took home the team title with a 17-over 859.

GAMECOCKS IN THE RANKINGS
South Carolina is No. 25 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and No. 16, according to the Golf Stat rankings. Eirik Johansen is No. 25 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Individual Rankings.

GAMECOCK PLAYER NOTES
Eirik Johansen (Senior, Stavanger, Norway)
Johansen boasts five top-10 finishes this season and a total of 19 during his career at USC … One of two golfers to compete in every varsity event this season … Best Gamecock finisher in six of eight events this season … Set a season low round with a 76 on the first day of the Hootie at Bulls Bay (March 26) … Tied for fourth at the TOPY Cup (Sept. 6-8) and earned fourth-place outright at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-16) in helping the Gamecocks to the team title.

Mark Anderson (Sophomore, Beaufort, S.C.)
One of two golfers to participate in every varsity event this season … Best showing of the season came at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Feb. 5-7) as he placed 10th … Posted a low round of 71 in the first round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (March 26-28).

Florian Fritsch (Freshman, Wiesloch, Germany)
True freshman has competed in seven of eight varsity events … Owns three top-10 finishes … Best Gamecock finisher in three tournaments … Placed second at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-16) and in a tie for sixth at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Feb. 5-7) … Low round is a 68, carded in the second round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.

Patrick Cunning (Redshirt Freshman, Aiken, S.C.)
Redshirt freshman has competed in four varsity events, including USC’s win at the Bank of Tennesseee Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-16) … Fired his low round of 67 in the second round of the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational (March 18-19) … Best individual finish is a tie for 26th at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.

Allen Koon (Freshman, Bamberg, S.C.)
True freshman has participated in four varsity events, including all four tournaments this spring … Had back-to-back top 25 showings at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Feb. 5-7) and the Gator Invitational (Feb. 18-19) … Shot his low round of 71 in the second round of the Schenkel E-Z-Go (March 18-19) and matched it in the first round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate (March 26-28).