Nov. 15, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina men’s golf program has signed Ben Dietrich and Kieron Fowler to National Letters of Intent, head coach Bill McDonald announced Thursday.

Dietrich and Fowler will join the Gamecocks in 2013-14 as two of the top golfers in the class of 2013.

“We are extremely excited to announce the signing of Ben Dietrich and Kieron Fowler to our 2013 class,” McDonald said. “Both of these young men have the playing pedigree to have an immediate impact on our team next fall and (associate head) coach (Don) Hill and I are looking forward to their arrival and contribution. These two young men are excellent students as well and we welcome them to the Gamecock family.”

Dietrich, a native of Bluffton, S.C., attended Heritage Academy and the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C. He is ranked No. 31 in the class of 2013 in the AJGA/Polo Junior Golf Rankings and No. 53 in the Golfweek junior rankings. He has compiled a long list of accomplishments as a junior golfer, including winning the 2012 AJGA Junior at Savannah Quarters. At the 2012 AJGA Junior Players Championship, Dietrich earned a tie for seventh finish. He also finished tied for 12th at the 2011 Junior Jones Cup and tied for 22nd at the 2012 Exide Technologies Junior Open.

“Ben is an in-state player that we have had our eye on for a while and he just continues to work hard and move up in the national rankings,” McDonald said. “Ben has an incredible work ethic and he has consistently displayed a very mature and competitive demeanor throughout the recruiting process.”

A native of Alicante, Spain, Fowler attended King’s College British School of Alicante. Fowler was the Spanish Junior Player of the Year in 2011 and was a member of the County Team (equivalent to All-State) in both 2011 and 2012. He was also a member of the England under 16 team in 2009 and 2010. Fowler was the under 18 Spanish National Champion in 2011 and was the County Champion in both 2010 and 2011 (under 18, under 21 and men’s). In 2010, he won the Lacoste Promesas after finishing runner-up at the event the previous year. Other notable finishes for Fowler are a second-place showing at the Copa Baleares, a seventh-place finish at the Spanish Amateur Championship and a 35th-place finish at the Brabazon Amateur Championship.

“Kieron is one of the top juniors in Europe and we were very fortunate to sign him,” McDonald said. “Kieron is the first international player to join our program in some time and coach Hill has done an amazing job of recruiting this young man. Coach Hill’s trip to England this past summer to watch Kieron compete confirmed everything we had heard and read about his ability.”