April 21, 2012

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — South Carolina freshman Caleb Sturgeon carded a second-round 2-under 68 on Saturday to move up the leaderboard at the 2012 SEC Men’s Golf Championship at Sea Island Golf Club.

Sturgeon, whose round tied for the second lowest of the day, climbed 19 spots to move into a tie for 23rd place with a score of 142 (+2). As a team, the Gamecocks posted a 9-over 289 for the second straight day to remain in a tie for ninth with a score of 578 (+18).

“It’s not been our best week thus far,” South Carolina associate head coach Don Hill said. “We haven’t played Carolina golf. We made some sloppy mistakes and some bad decisions. Unfortunately, it’s put us in the position where we really need to go out and have a solid round tomorrow.”

Sturgeon got off to a strong start with a birdie on hole No. 10, which was his first hole of the round. He then made seven consecutive pars before recording his only blemish of the day, a bogey on No. 18. The Laurens, S.C., native remained at even until he made back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven to move to 2-under, where he finished the round.

“Caleb has shown a tremendous amount of fight all season,” Hill said. “He’s played great golf all year and has been one of our most consistent performers. To go out and shoot a 68, it just shows a tremendous amount of fight. Every time he tees it up he really does care about his teammates and cares about playing good golf and he wants to represent the university in the right way.”

Senior Wesley Bryan posted a 3-over 73 to fall into a tie for 13th with a score of 140 (E). Bryan made the turn at 3-over but he settled down on the back nine and played even the rest of the way, recording two birdies, two bogeys and five pars.

Freshman Will Murphy also turned in a 73 (+3) and is tied for 38th with a score of 145 (+5). Murphy made two birdies, five bogeys and 11 pars for his round.

Juniors Dykes Harbin and Dean Hester shot rounds of 76 and 75, respectively, and are in a tie for 51st with a two-round total of 152 (+12).

Alabama shot a 274 (-6) on Saturday to remain in the lead with a score of 546 (-14). Georgia and Auburn are in a tie for second with a score of 557 (-3), followed by Florida (561) and Arkansas (566).

Tennessee’s Rick Lamb and Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt are tied for the individual lead with a score of 134 (-6). Lamb posted a second-round 67 (-3), while Wyatt shot a 69 (-1).

The final round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. The Gamecocks are paired with Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T13. Wesley Bryan 67-73=140 (E)
T23. Caleb Sturgeon 74-68=142 (+2)
T38. Will Murphy 72-73=145 (+5)
T51. Dykes Harbin 76-76=152 (+12)
T51. Dean Hester 77-75=152 (+12)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Alabama 272-274=546 (-14)
T2. Georgia 273-284=557 (-3)
T2. Auburn 277-280=557 (-3)
4. Florida 283-278=561 (+1)
5. Arkansas 286-280=566 (+6)
6. Mississippi 287-285=572 (+12)
T7. Vanderbilt 289-286=575 (+15)
T7. Tennessee 285-290=575 (+15)
T9. South Carolina 289-289=578 (+18)
T9. Kentucky 284-294=578 (+18)
11. Mississippi State 289-290=579 (+19)
12. LSU 296-284=580 (+20)