May 18, 2012

Results

NORMAN, Okla. — The South Carolina men’s golf team battled extremely high winds on Friday at the NCAA Southwest Regional on its way to shooting a second-round 302 (+14) at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

The Gamecocks moved two spots up the leaderboard into eighth place with a two-round total of 596 (+20), as the field played in winds up to 30 mph for most of the day. Washington turned in a 7-under 281 to take the overall lead with a total of 567 (-9). Florida State is in second with a score of 571 (-5), followed by Texas (572), Illinois (575) and Georgia Tech (576). The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship.

“It’s been really frustrating to not have more than a couple of guys to play well the last two days, but on the other hand to have two of our freshmen, Caleb Sturgeon and Will Murphy, come back strong today was a positive,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “The way the golf course was playing, we really missed an opportunity to move up the board by throwing away some shots early in the round.”

Freshman Caleb Sturgeon led the way with a solid round of even-par 72 and is tied for 43rd with a total of 152 (+8). The Laurens, S.C, native had the lowest nine-hole score of the round as he posted a 4-under 32 on the front side. He struggled at times on the back nine when the winds picked up, as did the rest of the field. He recorded bogeys on four of his first five holes before closing out his day with four straight pars.

Freshman Will Murphy overcame two double bogeys and a bogey on the front nine to fight back for a round of 2-over 74. He recorded a team-high five birdies on the day to move 18 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 50th with a total of 153 (+9).

Senior Wesley Bryan remained in the top 20 with a 3-over 75. He will head into the final round in a tie for 13th with a score of 144 (E), which is seven shots off the lead. For the round, Bryan recorded three birdies, six bogeys and nine pars.

Freshman Sean Kelly and junior Dykes Harbin shot rounds of 81 (+9) and 83 (+11), respectively. Kelly is in a tie for 55th with a score of 154 (+10), while Harbin is tied for 64th with a total of 156 (+12).

Illinois’ Thomas Pieters holds the individual lead with a score of 137 (-7), while Florida State’s Daniel Berger is one shot back with a score of 138 (-6).

Carolina will tee off in the final round on Saturday beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT on hole No. 10. The Gamecocks are paired with St. Mary’s and Sacramento State. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T13. Wesley Bryan 69-75=144 (E)
T43. Caleb Sturgeon 80-72=152 (+8)
T50. Will Murphy 79-74=153 (+9)
T55. Sean Kelly 73-81=154 (+10)
T64. Dykes Harbin 73-83=156 (+12)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Washington 286-281=567 (-9)
2. Florida State 279-292=571 (-5)
3. Texas 279-293=572 (-4)
4. Illinois 284-291=575 (-1)
5. Georgia Tech 290-286=576 (E)
6. Oklahoma 287-292=579 (+3)
7. St. Mary’s (CA) 286-302=588 (+12)
8. South Carolina 294-302=596 (+20)
9. Sacramento State 292-307=599 (+23)
10. Arizona 289-311=600 (+24)
11. San Diego 303-299=602 (+26)
12. IUPUI 297-307=604 (+28)
13. Middle Tennessee St. 304-316=620 (+44)
14. Loyola – Chicago 307-314=621 (+45)