May 27, 2009

Live Video – Third Round | Live Scoring – Third Round

UPDATE – 10:30 a.m., May 28, 2009

TOLEDO, Ohio – South Carolina ended up in 18th place following the conclusion of the second round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship on Thursday morning. Play was halted late Wednesday due to darkness, and the 15 teams still on the course returned to Inverness Club to finish their rounds early Thursday morning. All tee times for the third round have been pushed back three hours, and the Gamecocks will begin their rounds at 3 p.m. EDT, paired with Chattanooga and Illinois.

The Gamecocks stand at 591 (+23) through two rounds after a strong score of 286 (+2) on Wednesday. As teams continued to drop down the leaderboard, Carolina finds itself only nine strokes out of eighth place and a spot in the match play bracket that begins Friday.

A live video stream of Thursday’s third round will be available beginning at noon by clicking the link at the top of this page or by visiting NCAA.com. Live scoring will be available through golfstat.com.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Oklahoma State (E)
2. Georgia (+5)
3. Texas A&M (+6)
4. Arizona State (+7)
5. Washington (+11)
6. Arkansas (+12)
7. Michigan (+13)
8. Duke (+14)
T9. UCF (+15)
T9. Tennessee (+15)
11. TCU (+16)
T12. Southern Cal (+18)
T12. Georgia Tech (+18)
T12. San Diego (+18)
T12. Alabama (+18)
16. Chattanooga (+21)
17. Illinois (+22)
18. South Carolina (+23)
19. Texas Tech (+27)
T20. Iowa (+29)
T20. Florida (+29)
22. Oregon (+31)
23. UCLA (+33)
24. Northwestern (+34)
T25. Virginia (+35)
T25. Stanford (+35)
27. Ohio State (+36)
28. Wake Forest (+38)
29. Texas (+40)
30. Arizona (+44)

THIRD-ROUND TEE TIMES
No. 1 Tee
10 a.m. – Oklahoma State, Georgia, Texas A&M
10:47 a.m. – Michigan, Duke, UCF
11:35 a.m. – San Diego, Georgia Tech, Alabama
3 p.m. – Chattanooga, Illinois, South Carolina
3:47 p.m. – Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern
4:35 p.m. – Wake Forest, Texas, Arizona
No. 10 Tee
10:20 a.m. – Arizona State, Washington, Arkansas
11:07 a.m. – Tennessee, TCU, Southern California
11:55 a.m. – Individuals
3:20 p.m. – Texas Tech, Iowa, Florida
4:07 p.m. – Virginia, Stanford, Ohio State
4:55 p.m. – Individuals

Gamecocks Improve by 21 Strokes; Play Suspended Late Wednesday

TOLEDO, Ohio – South Carolina’s men’s golf team weathered a four-and-a-half-hour weather delay in Wednesday’s second round of the 112th NCAA Championship and managed to shoot one of the better rounds of the day, improving by 21 strokes over their first-round performance. The Gamecocks shot 286 (+2) and managed to finish their round well before play was suspended due to darkness shortly before 9 p.m. with 15 teams still on the course.

“I was proud of the way the guys fought back today,” head coach Bill McDonald said. “I think the guys are becoming a lot more confident with this golf course. They’re hitting better shots and playing smarter golf. I think that by the time everyone else gets finished, we will be in a pretty good position to make a run at the top eight.”

When play was suspended for the day, South Carolina stood at 23-over for the tournament and in 21st place. However, by the time the round is completed Thursday morning, the Gamecocks could move up several spots. Currently, the Gamecocks are nine strokes out of eighth place and a berth in the weekend’s match play bracket.

The teams that began their rounds early in the morning were able to complete their rounds despite a rain/lightning delay that lasted from approximately 11:45 a.m. to just after 4 p.m. The Gamecocks’ first tee time was at 8:35 a.m.; the final Carolina group finished the 18th hole around 6:30 p.m. Some of the final groups had not yet begun their second round at that time. Teams that were unable to finish Wednesday afternoon will have a very early wake-up call as play will resume at 6:45 a.m. Thursday.

As he has done throughout the postseason, senior Mark Silvers III once again led the way for the Gamecocks on Wednesday. He fired a 2-under-par 69 to jump back up to 1-over for the tournament and a tie for 19th place overall. The senior from Savannah, Ga., got off to a hot start with birdies on the first two holes, then a bogey-birdie-bogey stretch toward the end of his front nine to make the turn at 1-under. After the rain delay, he would birdie the 10th to get back to 2-under, then bogey 12, birdie 13 and bogey 14 to move back to 1-under. A huge birdie at the tricky par-4 17th got him back to 2-under, and his birdie putt at the 18th missed by an inch.

Freshman Wesley Bryan was six shots better Wednesday, firing a 70 (-1) to move back to 4-over for the tournament and a tie for 44th place overall. He made the turn at 1-over after a fiery finish to his front nine that saw him birdie the seventh, eagle the eighth and take double-bogey at the ninth. But he would play the back nine in 2-under with birdies at 11, 13 and 17 – the latter of which came on a 30-foot putt – to finish his round at 1-under.

George Bryan IV had a mostly steady round that got off to a very hot start. He birdied the first two holes, but then made the turn at even par after bogeys at the very difficult fifth and sixth holes. His only blemish on the back nine would be a three-putt bogey at the par-3 12th, but he would make some spectacular scrambling pars along the way. He finished with a 72 (+1) and stands tied for 61st overall.

Freshman Sam Braver would improve by nine strokes and record a 75 (+4), while junior Patrick Rada was two shots better on Wednesday with a 77 (+6) that included a birdie-birdie finish.

Oklahoma State continues to lead the tournament at even par after posting a 4-under 280 Wednesday. Georgia is five shots back at 5-over, and Michigan (still on the course) and Texas A&M are another stroke back, tied for third at 6-over. Individually, Alex Ching of San Diego leads the tournament at 6-under and is currently at 5-under for his second round through 11 holes. Georgia’s Russell Henley and NC State’s Matt Hill are tied for the clubhouse lead at 4-under.

The 15 teams still on the course will resume play at 6:45 a.m. Thursday with the start of the third round tentatively set for 10 a.m. Pairings and tee times for the third round will not be determined until the conclusion of the second round Thursday morning. For the latest updates, keep checking GamecocksOnline.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T19. Mark Silvers III – 74-69=143 (+1)
T44. Wesley Bryan – 76-70=146 (+4)
T61. George Bryan IV – 76-72=148 (+6)
T142. Patrick Rada – 79-77=156 (+14)
T150. Sam Braver – 84-75=159 (+17)