March 30, 2009

AWENDAW, S.C. – South Carolina junior George Bryan IV birdied five of his final eight holes to shoot a 4-under-par 67 in Monday’s second round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, putting him in third place at 6-under through 36 holes. No. 10 South Carolina shot a 5-under 279 as a team on Monday, 12 strokes better than its opening round, but dropped two spots in the team standings to seventh on a day when low numbers were abundant at Bulls Bay Golf Club.

Bryan, ranked 65th nationally by GolfStat, shot his third-straight round in the 60s, dating back to the final round of last week’s Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational. The junior from Chapin, S.C., got off to an inauspicious start with three bogeys on the front nine and made the turn at 1-over for the day. But he found his groove with birdies at 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 to fire a sizzling 30 on the back nine to complete a round of 67, the best by a Carolina golfer this season. Bryan stands in a tie for second place at 6-under, two shots out of the tournament lead heading into the final round.

Also impressive Monday afternoon was freshman Sam Braver, who was bogey-free over his final 14 holes to record a 2-under 69 on the day. Braver also started slowly with bogeys on two of his first four holes, but a string of four birdies in five holes – including three straight to begin his back nine – propelled him into red figures for the day. Braver heads into the final round of play at 1-over for the week, tied for 23rd place.

Fellow freshman Wesley Bryan continued the trend of Gamecock golfers going lower on Monday with an even-par round of 71 to remain at 3-over for the tournament. The younger Bryan was one of many golfers to struggle in the early going as he was 3-over through four holes. But just like Braver, he was bogey-free over his final 14 holes and carded three birdies in the process. At 3-over for the tournament, Bryan is tied for 33rd place heading into the final round.

Junior Patrick Rada was the most-improved Gamecock, going five strokes better in an up-and-down second round to sign for a 1-over 72. The junior had three birdies and three bogeys on the front to make the turn at even par, but a pair of bogeys around a birdie at the 15th kept the native of Anderson, S.C., just above par for the day. He is at 6-over for the week, tied for 51st.

Mark Silvers III had a mostly clean scorecard with only one birdie and one bogey through 13 holes, but a pair of bogeys down the stretch pushed him to a 2-over 73. The senior from Savannah, Ga., is 5-over for the tournament and tied for 41st overall.

Augusta State fired a smoking 12-under 272 to maintain the tournament lead through two rounds at 10-under. LSU is six shots back of the Jaguars at 4-under after a 275 Monday, followed by UCF at 3-under for the tournament.

Janne Kaske of Augusta State also kept his individual lead with his second 67 of the week to move to 8-under for the tournament, one shot ahead of LSU’s John Peterson and two strokes clear of George Bryan IV. Jordan Blann of Kentucky fired an incredible 64 (-7) to climb from a tie for 24th at 3-over to fourth place at 4-under.

The Gamecocks will be the first group to tee off Tuesday morning with the first tee time set for 8 a.m. South Carolina will be paired with Wake Forest and Kentucky for the final round of play. A full recap will follow the action on GamecocksOnline.com, and live results are available through golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS3. George Bryan IV - 69-67=139 (-6)T22. Sam Braver - 74-69=143 (+1)T33. Wesley Bryan - 74-71=145 (+3)T41. Mark Silvers III - 74-73=147 (+5)T51. Patrick Rada - 77-72=149 (+7)
TEAM STANDINGS1. Augusta State (-10)2. LSU (-4)3. UCF (-3)4. Virginia (-2)T5. NC State (E)T5. Clemson (E)7. South Carolina (+2)8. Wake Forest (+3)9. Kentucky (+5)10. Chattanooga (+9)11. North Carolina (+13)12. Coll. of Charleston (+25)13. Georgia State (+28)14. Maryland (+29)15. USC-Aiken (+35)