Oct. 27, 2008

WINDERMERE, Fla. – It was a rough day for Gamecock golfers as a 302 (+14) dropped the No. 8 South Carolina men’s team out of the top 10 and into 13th place at the prestigious Isleworth Collegiate Invitational hosted by the University of Central Florida.

The golf course, while playing nearly a stroke under its average from Sunday’s first round, got the better of the Gamecocks as three players finished with a 75 with another at 77 and one more at 79.

Junior George Bryan IV got off to a very rough start with double-bogey at the first and a triple at the second. However, he settled down and was 2-under for the remainder of his round to finish with a 3-over 75 and a tie for 42nd place at 6-over for the tournament.

Allen Koon joins Bryan IV at 6-over after likewise shooting matching 75s in the first two rounds. Koon got off to a much better start, getting to 1-under with a birdie at No. 3. But Koon would card five bogeys on the day to go with just one other birdie, finishing at 3-over for the afternoon.

Wesley Bryan, the team’s leader after day one, was smooth through the first half of his round with his only blemish a bogey at the ninth to put him 1-over at the turn. But a disastrous stretch of three straight double bogeys was impossible to overcome, and the freshman carded a 79 to drop him to 8-over for the tournament and into a tie for 59th place.

Patrick Rada shot 77 (+5), making three bogeys on the front nine before a three-hole stretch that went double-birdie-bogey midway through his back nine. The junior stands tied for 51st heading into the final round of play.

After a very rough opening round, senior Mark Silvers III shaved four strokes off his first-day 79 to finish at 4-over for the day. At 3-over through six holes, Silvers made back-to-back birdies before finishing the front side with a bogey to make the turn at 2-over. He then made three bogeys and a birdie over his next four holes before finishing strong with four pars and a birdie to card a 75. Silvers is tied for 66th to begin Tuesday’s final round.

Defending tournament champion Georgia went very low today with a round of 277 (-11) to grab a three-shot lead over 15th-ranked Indiana heading into the final round. Alabama is four more shots back at 2-over, with No. 3 Southern California one more stroke behind.

The Bulldogs’ Russell Henley sits atop the individual leaderboard after a sizzling 67 (-5) Monday to get him to 6-under. He holds a one-shot lead over Indiana’s Jorge Campillo, who shot 71 (-1) in the second round.

The Gamecocks will go off from the 10th tee in Tuesday’s final round and will be paired with Charlotte and UCLA with tee times beginning at 8:49 a.m. For full coverage, including live scoring, visit golfstat.com.