March 30, 2012

Tournament Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf team will compete against one of the deepest fields it has faced this season when it tees off on Saturday in the first round of the Insperity Augusta State Invitational in Augusta, Ga.

The 16-team field features nine teams in the Golfweek Top 50, including No. 1 Texas. The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday on the par-72, 7,029-yard layout at Forest Hills Golf Club.

“This is the fifth tournament in a row in a six-week stretch. It’s a big week for us,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “I’m hoping we have momentum after the way we fought back in the last round at the Hootie at Bulls Bay and can carry it into this event. The field is really strong and is one of the best we will see this year. We will have to play well to contend.”

Joining the Gamecocks and the top-ranked Longhorns this weekend are No. 14 Clemson, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 27 Baylor, No. 35 TCU, No. 39 Illinois, No. 40 SMU, No. 46 Augusta State, No. 50 Tennessee, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Houston, Lamar, USC Aiken and Virginia Tech.

The Gamecocks are coming off a strong finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, which wrapped up on Tuesday. Carolina entered the final day in ninth place but was able to climb up the leaderboard to finish sixth with a final-round 296 (+8), which was the third best round of the day.

After a stellar final round at the Hootie at Bulls Bay, Carolina will keep the same lineup intact for this weekend, as senior Wesley Bryan, junior Dykes Harbin, sophomore Blaine Woodruff and freshmen Caleb Sturgeon and Will Murphy will tee off for the Gamecocks on Saturday. The lineup features four of the Gamecocks’ top five scoring averages this season, with Sturgeon’s 72.87 stroke average leading the way.

Carolina is making its ninth appearance at the Augusta State Invitational. The Gamecocks’ best finish was a second-place showing in 2009 with a score of 833 (-31), which is the fourth-best 54-hole team score in school history. Last season the Gamecocks finished 11th with a score of 887 (+23). Caulder Moore tied for 18th with rounds of 73-73-71=217 (+1) to lead Carolina.

First-round play will get underway on Saturday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The Gamecocks are paired with Houston, Georgia State and Illinois. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.