Sept. 9, 2010

Tournament Notes | Live Scoring | Tournament Website

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – With one of the youngest teams in program history, the South Carolina Gamecocks will tee it up for the first time in the 2010-11 season on Friday as they head to the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga. Play runs Friday through Sunday at The Farm Golf Club.

The South Carolina starting lineup for this week’s event features two true freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, only two of which have significant collegiate experience. Junior Wesley Bryan (Chapin, S.C.) leads the way for Carolina, along with sophomore Clint Tolleson (Spartanburg, S.C.); Bryan has played in every event in his two years as a Gamecock, and Tolleson played all 10 events in 2009-10 as a redshirt freshman. Sophomore Dean Hester (Dublin, Ga.) will be making his third varsity appearance for the Gamecocks, but his first as part of the starting five as he played in two events as an individual in 2009-10. A pair of true freshmen will get their first taste of college golf this week as Logan Harrell (Huntersville, N.C.) and Blaine Woodruff (Acworth, Ga.) round out the starting five.

Bryan has played in two previous Carpet Capital Collegiate events, tying for 29th in 2009 (72-77-72=221) and taking 30th place in 2008 (72-76-72=220). Tolleson competed in his first collegiate event here last year, posting rounds of 77-77-75=229 to tie for 47th place.

This year marks the 22nd playing of the Carpet Capital Collegiate, which was also known as the Carpet Capital Classic in years past. South Carolina has played in 19 of the previous 21 events, dating back to 1989. The Gamecocks have had great success recently, tying for first place in the 2007 CCC and taking a second-place tie in 2008. Two Carolina individuals have won at The Farm with Kyle Thompson shooting 69-69-70=208 to take the 2000 championship and David Seawell firing rounds of 69-68-73=210 to win medalist honors in 1994.

The same 12 teams that competed in last year’s Carpet Capital Collegiate will return to The Farm in 2010. Five SEC foes await the Gamecocks as Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee are competing, as well as Palmetto State archrival Clemson. Host Georgia Tech, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Texas Tech and Wake Forest round out a strong field in which all 12 teams were ranked in the final Golfweek/Sagarin Top 50 at the end of last season. In addition, four teams – Clemson, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Texas Tech – competed in the 2010 NCAA Championship. Seven of the 12 are ranked in the Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25 – No. 4 Georgia, No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Clemson, No. 18 Auburn, No. 21 Texas Tech and No. 24 South Carolina.

Last season, South Carolina fired its best round on Sunday and finished in fifth place at 872 (+8) for the week. Patrick Rada tied for 11th place at 1-under 215, and Paul Woodbury shot even-par 216 for the week to tie for 14th.

The Gamecocks are paired with Clemson and Georgia Tech for the first two rounds. Tee times for those teams begin at 9 a.m. Friday on the No. 1 tee, then again at 9:50 a.m. Saturday at the 10th hole. Live scoring is available via golfstatresults.com.