April 3, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Freshman Caulder Moore earned his second top-20 finish of the season on Sunday, making an eagle on his final hole of the tournament to tie for 18th place at the Insperity Augusta State Invitational. South Carolina, as a team, shot a final-round 292 (+4), their best round of the tournament, to finish in 11th place at 887 (+23).

Moore, a freshman from Isle of Palms, S.C., was competing as an individual this week and his score did not count toward the Gamecocks’ team total. But that did not stop the Gamecock rookie from putting together some of the best golf of his young career, shooting 73-73-71=217 (+1) to finish in a six-way tie for 18th place. Starting on the 10th hole, he made birdie at the downhill, par-5 11th to move to 1-under. A bogey at the 14th would be his only blemish among the next 11 holes as he remained at even-par for the day through 13. He would make another bogey at the fifth hole to move to 1-over, but after three more pars, he would record the Gamecocks’ only eagle of the tournament at the par-5 ninth to finish off his second round in red numbers this season.

Sophomore Dean Hester found red figures as well on Sunday, posting a 1-under-par 71 to lead the Gamecock lineup. It was a six-shot improvement from his second-round 77 and moved him 12 spots up the final leaderboard. The native of Dublin, Ga., would bogey the 13th to drop to 1-over, but it would be the only blemish on his scorecard today. He made birdie at the par-5 17th, then carded another at No. 2 to move to 1-under for the day. From there, he made seven straight pars to finish off his fifth round under par this season and finish at 224 (+8) for the week.

Augusta native Dykes Harbin finished off his return to his hometown with an even-par 72 Sunday, finishing at 221 (+5) for the week to post the best 54-hole score of his varsity career and earn a tie for 36th place. The sophomore made the turn at even par with a bogey at 12 and a birdie at the 17th, then was up-and-down across his second nine. A birdie at No. 2 got him to 1-under before bogeying the next two holes. He birdied the downhill, par-5 sixth to pull back even, then bogeyed No. 7 and made birdie at the ninth to finish the day at level par.

Junior Wesley Bryan was the top finisher in the Gamecock starting lineup at 219 (+3), finishing with a 3-over-par 75 Sunday to tie for 31st place. Trouble with the putter led Bryan to six bogeys on the day despite strong play off the tee and in his iron game. He made the turn at 2-over with three bogeys along with one birdie on the back nine, but then found his way back to even par with birdies at Nos. 1 and 3. Back-to-back bogeys on the next two holes dropped him back to 2-over, and then another bogey at the eighth finished off his 3-over round.

Freshman Blaine Woodruff made 16 pars and two bogeys in his final round to finish with a 74 (+2) for the day and a 223 (+7) for the week. Woodruff’s only blemishes on an otherwise clean sheet were bogeys at No. 12 and No. 5, both lengthy par-4s. And sophomore Clint Tolleson matches his second-round output with a 77 (+5).

Oklahoma State held off a late charge from Tennessee as senior Kevin Tway birdied the final two holes of the day to lift the Cowboys to a one-shot victory, claiming the team title at 848 (-16) to the Vols’ 849 (-15). For an illustration of how much more difficult scoring conditions were this year at Forest Hills Golf Club, 2010 champion Augusta State’s winning score was 817 (-47). Tway also finished as the individual medalist at 204 (-12), five shots ahead of Augusta State’s Olle Bengtsson.

As is the custom for the student-athletes competing in the Augusta State tournament, South Carolina’s players will enjoy Monday’s practice round at The Masters before returning to Columbia, where they will have two weeks to prepare for Carolina’s 20th trip to the Southeastern Conference Championship. The league tournament is set for April 15-17 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.

INSPERITY AUGUSTA STATE INVITATIONAL – FINAL RESULTS
April 3, 2011 • Augusta, Ga.
Forest Hills Golf Club • Par 72, 7,029 Yards

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
*T18. Caulder Moore – 73-73-71=217 (+1)
T31. Wesley Bryan – 70-74-75=219 (+3)
T36. Dykes Harbin – 73-76-72=221 (+5)
T45. Blaine Woodruff – 74-75-74=223 (+7)
T54. Dean Hester – 76-77-71=224 (+8)
T85. Clint Tolleson – 82-77-77=236 (+20)
* – individual

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Oklahoma State – 277-279-292=848 (-16)
2. Tennessee – 282-284-283=849 (-15)
3. Clemson – 279-296-284=859 (-5)
4. Alabama – 283-297-283=863 (-1)
5. Augusta State (B) – 299-285-281=865 (+1)
6. UCLA – 296-286-284=866 (+2)
7. Augusta State (A) – 291-291-289=871 (+7)
8. Illinois – 289-294-294=877 (+13)
9. Virginia Tech – 300-292-290=882 (+18)
10. Coastal Carolina – 295-292-296=883 (+19)
11. South Carolina – 293-302-292=887 (+23)
T12. Georgia Southern – 310-292-290=892 (+28)
T12. Lamar – 300-299-293=892 (+28)
14. Washington – 293-313-291=897 (+33)
15. Houston – 310-298-296=904 (+40)
16. USC-Aiken – 304-312-297=913 (+49)
17. Georgia State – 313-301-300=914 (+50)