Aug. 16, 2012

2012-13 Schedule

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s golf head coach Bill McDonald announced his team’s 2012-13 schedule on Thursday. The Gamecocks are slated to play in nine tournaments and one dual match during the regular season.

Carolina is coming off a trip to the NCAA Southwest Regional in 2011-12 where it finished in eighth place. The Gamecocks return seven golfers from last year’s roster, including four who played in the regional in sophomores Caleb Sturgeon, Will Murphy and Sean Kelly and senior Dykes Harbin.

“Our schedule this year will provide our team with a great balance of strong competition and challenging golf courses,” McDonald said. “From the start of the fall to the SEC Championship, this is the type of schedule that will give our players a variety of experiences and certainly help prepare our program for a strong postseason run.”

The Gamecocks will open the season at the Carpet Capital Collegiate for the sixth consecutive year. The tournament will be held Sept. 7-9 at The Farm Golf Club in Dalton, Ga.

After nearly a month without a tournament, Carolina will host the Rees Jones Invitational on Oct. 1-2 at Haig Point Golf Club in Daufuskie Island, S.C. Kelly placed third at last year’s event to lead Carolina to a second-place finish. Carolina will travel to the AutoTrader Collegiate on Oct. 15-16 at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Atlanta, Ga., before closing out the fall portion of the schedule with the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic on Oct. 28-30 at Turtle Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C.

The Gamecocks open the spring with the Redstone Invitational on Feb. 22-24 at Redstone Golf Club in Houston, Texas.

On March 3-5, Carolina will play in the Lake Jovita Classic at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Fla. The following week the Gamecocks head to the Palmetto Intercollegiate on March 11-12 at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. Carolina finished third at the event last year, as Sturgeon led the way with a fourth-place showing. Two weeks later the Gamecocks will co-host the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate for the ninth straight season on March 24-26 at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C.

Carolina will make a return trip to the prestigious Augusta State Invitational on April 6-7 at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., before closing out the regular season on April 13 with a dual match against Georgia Tech at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.

The 2012 SEC Championship will be held on April 19-21 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons, Ga., while the NCAA Regionals are slated for May 16-18 at six sites – University Club in Baton Rouge, La., Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee, Fla., Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Wash., and Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

Carolina will look to make its first appearance at the NCAA Championship since 2009, as this year’s tournament will be held on May 28-June 2 at the Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga.