April 1, 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Playing in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., junior Dykes Harbin wrapped up one of his best tournaments as a Gamecock with a career-low 4-under 68 on Sunday in the final round of the Insperity Augusta State Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club.

Harbin climbed eight spots up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 12th place with a three-round score of 210 (-6), which is also a career low. As a team, the Gamecocks shot a 1-over 289 to finish in a tie for seventh place with a score of 858 (-6).

“Dykes had a great round,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “He shot 4-under on the back nine, and everybody else was struggling on that side. That was big for us, and it was great for him to do that in his hometown. I’m proud of Dykes. Overall, we looked really tired with it being our fifth straight week of competition. The guys just looked like they were dragging today. Still it’s not a bad finish with this field. It was still a pretty decent tournament for us, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

The top-20 finish is the fourth of Harbin’s career, which have all come this season. Harbin played near flawless golf after shaking off a bogey on his second hole of the day. He recorded five birdies and 11 pars the rest of the way to head into the clubhouse at 4-under.

Senior Wesley Bryan turned in his third straight round of par or better with an even-par 72 on Sunday, finishing in a tie for 18th with a score of 212 (-4). Bryan had an up and down round as he was never able to move below par and fought his way back to even par after getting to as high as 2-over. He finished his round with four bogeys, four birdies and 10 pars.

“Wesley had a really solid three rounds for us also,” McDonald said. “I’m proud of the way he played this weekend.”

After recording consecutive rounds of 71 on Saturday, freshman Will Murphy carded a final-round 3-over 75. Murphy closed out the tournament in a tie for 34th with a score of 217 (+1). Freshman Caleb Sturgeon shot a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 55th with a score of 220 (+4), while sophomore Blaine Woodruff turned in a 5-over 77 to finish tied for 74th.

Top-ranked Texas defeated host Augusta State in a two-hole playoff to win the tournament title. Both teams finished the weekend with a score of 838 (-26). Illinois placed second with a score of 846, followed by Baylor (852) and TCU (852). TCU’s Julien Brun shot a 3-under 69 to win medalist honors with a score of 202 (-14).

The Gamecocks will close out the regular season next weekend in the River Landing Intercollegiate in Wallace, N.C. The teams will play 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday at River Landing Country Club.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T12. Dykes Harbin 72-70-68=210 (-6)
T18. Wesley Bryan 69-71-72=212 (-4)
T34. Will Murphy 71-71-75=217 (+1)
T55. Caleb Sturgeon 72-74-74=220 (+4)
T74. Blaine Woodruff 78-73-77=228 (+12)

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
T1. Texas 282-277-279=838 (-26) (Won Two-Hole Playoff)
T1. Augusta State 283-276-279=838 (-26)
3. Illinois 291-273-282=846 (-18)
T4. Baylor 291-284-277=852 (-12)
T4. TCU 290-276-286=852 (-12)
6. Tennessee 291-277-286=854 (-10)
T7. Virginia Tech 293-284-281=858 (-6)
T7. South Carolina 284-285-289=858 (-6)
9. Oklahoma State 290-284-286=860 (-4)
T10. SMU 299-279-283=861 (-3)
T10 Coastal Carolina 287-284-290=861 (-3)
12 Houston 294-284-289=867 (+3)
13. Clemson 299-283-286=868 (+4)
14 Lamar 292-286-293=871 (+7)
15 Georgia State 292-290-290=872 (+8)
16. S. Carolina-Aiken 298-287-288=873 (+9)