March 31, 2009

AWENDAW, S.C. – George Bryan IV equaled the best round of his collegiate career Tuesday, carding a 6-under-par 65 to finish at 12-under for the tournament and grab a second-place showing at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, his second straight runner-up finish. The Gamecocks shot 8-under as a team in the final round of play – the best team round of the day – and vaulted to a third-place finish with a 6-under 846 after starting the day in seventh place.

“I’m so proud of this team,” head coach Bill McDonald said. “Everyone contributed this week. I’m especially proud of George; I can’t imagine that there are many people in the country playing better than he is right now. What I’m trying to do with this team is make sure they’re peaking at the right time. We’ve finished first and third the last two weeks, so I think we’re getting close.”

The day started off rather ordinary for the junior from Chapin, S.C., as he carded pars on his first five holes. But three birdies over his next four holes got him to 3-under for the day. Another three pars preceded back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14 before his lone hiccup of the day, a bogey at the par-4 15th. But a pair of mid-range birdie putts would fall for Bryan on 17 and 18 to get him to 6-under for the day and 12-under for the tournament.

Bryan’s 54-hole total of 201 (69-67-65) marks the second-lowest 54-hole score in South Carolina golf history. Only John Bloomfield’s 197 (65-66-66) at the 1999 Red River Classic stands ahead of Bryan’s performance at this year’s Hootie. Bryan’s previous best performance came at the 2007 NCAA West Regional when he fired a 204 en route to a 10th-place finish and helped the Gamecocks to the team title.

Also cracking red numbers Tuesday was senior Mark Silvers III, whose 68 (-3) was his best score of the week. The senior had four birdies along with a bogey on the front nine to make the turn at 3-under, then got to 4-under with another birdie at the 11th. He ran into some trouble at the par-5 13th with a couple of unfortunate lies leading to his only bogey of the back nine. He would par out from there to sign for a 3-under 68, his best 18-hole score since the final round of the season-opening Carpet Capital Collegiate, to give him a total of 2-over for the week and a tie for 22nd place.

Junior Patrick Rada found his way under par on the final day as well, firing a 1-under 70 to give the Gamecocks three players in red numbers on the day. After making the turn at even par, the junior turned in four birdies along with three bogeys on the back nine to turn in his best score of the week. Rada finished at 6-over for the week, tied for 41st place.

Freshmen Wesley Bryan and Sam Braver found rough going on the final day with Bryan signing for a 73 and Braver carding a 77. Bryan got off to a slow start with bogeys on three of his first six holes, but settled down to card birdies at Nos. 7 and 15 to get back to 1-over. But a three-putt bogey at the 18th got him back to 2-over for his round and 5-over for the week. Braver ran into trouble early on, making the turn at 7-over. But he managed to salvage the round with a 1-under 34 on the back nine that included an eagle at the par-5 13th.

Augusta State ran away with the team title, carding a 7-under 277 Tuesday en route to a final score of 835 (-17). Virginia was also 7-under on the day and finished at 9-under for the tournament to grab second place, three strokes ahead of the Gamecocks.

Janne Kaske of Augusta State equaled Bryan’s 65 to take the individual title at 199 (-14). Bryan was alone in second place, followed by LSU’s John Peterson at 8-under.

The Gamecocks have one more tune-up before the SEC Championships as they play next week at the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga.

FINAL CAROLINA RESULTS2. George Bryan IV - 69-67-65=201 (-12)T22. Mark Silvers III - 74-73-68=215 (+2)T36. Wesley Bryan - 74-71-73=218 (+5)T41. Patrick Rada - 77-72-70=219 (+6)T46. Sam Braver - 74-69-77=220 (+7)
TEAM STANDINGS1. Augusta State (-17)2. Virginia (-9)3. South Carolina (-6)4. UCF (-4)5. NC State (-2)6. LSU (-1)T7. Clemson (+3)T7. Wake Forest (+3)9. Kentucky (+4)10. Chattanooga (+9)11. North Carolina (+14)12. Georgia State (+26)13. Coll. of Charleston (+32)14. USC-Aiken (+37)15. Maryland (+41)