Sept. 25, 2008

Live Scoring

COLUMBIA – Fresh off a solid third-place performance at the Carpet Capital Collegiate two weeks ago, the South Carolina men’s golf team, ranked eighth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings, will tee it up for the second time this season at the Mason Rudolph Invitational at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

“We are excited to be playing in the Mason Rudolph Invitational for the first time,” Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “The Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club is known for always being in excellent condition. The team has been working hard since the Carpet Capital and I expect each player to compete at a high level this week.”

Carolina will send out four of the same five golfers that competed in the Carpet Capital, highlighted by senior Allen Koon. Koon posted two consecutive rounds under par on Saturday and Sunday to claim a runner-up finish at 213 (-3), his first career top-five showing. Koon will be joined by fellow senior Mark Silvers III, who fired a blistering 4-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to vault into 13th place.

Also in the lineup for the Gamecocks will be junior George Bryan IV and his younger brother, freshman Wesley Bryan, who both had solid showings in Dalton. The elder Bryan had solid rounds of 72 and 73 to open the tournament, but could not overcome a double- and two triple-bogeys en route to a final-round 81. Wesley Bryan shot a pair of even-par 72s around a 4-over 76 to finish in 30th place.

Junior Patrick Rada, who competed in four tournaments last season, will round out the roster and see his first action of the 2008-09 season. Rada made his postseason debut last year in the SEC Championship and finished the season with a 74.09 average. He earned a career-best fifth-place finish at the Furman Intercollegiate, shooting a career-low 218 (+2), some five strokes better than his previous best.

The Vanderbilt Legends Club South Course is a par 71, 7,100-yard layout that has hosted numerous high-profile events, including an SEC Women’s Championship, an LPGA tour stop, and U.S. Senior Open qualifying. It will be the first time a Carolina men’s team has played the course.

A solid tournament field awaits the Gamecocks this week, including three Southeastern Conference foes in Kentucky, Mississippi State and host Vanderbilt. Also competing are Arkansas State, Belmont, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Kennesaw State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, UNC-Greensboro, Purdue, South Alabama, Tennessee State, Western Carolina and Western Kentucky.

CAROLINA TEE TIMES (All Times Eastern):

Hole #1
9:05 a.m. – Patrick Rada
9:14 a.m. – Wesley Bryan
9:23 a.m. – Mark Silvers III
9:32 a.m. – Allen Koon
9:41 a.m. – George Bryan IV