March 12, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C — The eighth-ranked South Carolina men’s golf team is set to play for the second time this week as it will tee off in the Seminole Intercollegiate on Friday in Tallahassee, Fla. The 54-hole event runs through Sunday at Southwood Golf Club, which has a par-72, 7,172-yard layout.

The Gamecocks started the week in strong fashion by winning the Palmetto Intercollegiate on Tuesday by a stroke over rival Clemson. It was Carolina’s fourth tournament win this season, which matches a school record.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Dates: Friday, March 13-Sunday, March 15
Location: Southwood Golf Club (Par: 72, Yards: 7,172) – Tallahassee, Fla.

Field: 17 teams (Cincinnati, East Tennessee State, Florida, Florida State, George Washington, Georgia Tech, Illinois State, Jacksonville, James Madison, Louisville, Mercer, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Troy, Virginia, Western Kentucky)
Carolina’s First-Round Tee Time: 9:20 a.m., paired with Georgia Tech, Florida State
Tournament Notes: Seminole Intercollegiate
Live Scoring: Live Scoring

From the Coach
“It’s a quick turnaround for us, but we are looking forward to getting underway at the Seminole Intercollegiate,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “Hopefully the recent win at the Palmetto and our current win streak will keep our guys motivated. Honestly, right now everyone looks a little tired, but I still expect them to play well this week. It’s a very good field overall, and Florida State always plays well on their home course.”

History at the Seminole Intercollegiate
The Gamecocks are making their sixth appearance at the Seminole Intercollegiate and their first since 2010. Carolina has finished no worse than sixth in five previous appearances and won the event in 1999. Individually, Kyle Thompson claimed medalist honors at the 1999 Seminole Intercollegiate, and Paul Woodbury won the 2010 event in a four-hole playoff.

Last Time at the Seminole – March 12-14, 2010
The Gamecocks claimed second place, finishing one stroke back of host Florida State with a total of 866 (+14). Paul Woodbury claimed medalist honors in a playoff, winning on the fourth playoff hole. He wrapped up the event with a total of 212 (-1).

Breaking Down the Field
This year’s Seminole Intercollegiate features a 17-team field, with nine teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfstat Relative Rankings. Host Florida State enters the tournament ranked No. 2 with three tournament victories on the year. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 7 with two tournament wins, while the Gamecocks are ranked No. 8 with four victories. Ninth-ranked South Florida, No. 23 Virginia, No. 38 Florida, No. 40 Troy, No. 43 Louisville, and No. 50 East Tennessee State round out the teams ranked in the top 50. Cincinnati, George Washington, Illinois State, Jacksonville, James Madison, Mercer, Penn State and Western Kentucky make up the rest of the field. Carolina has a 5-2 head-to-head record this season against teams in this week’s field.

Winning Ways
The Gamecocks captured their fourth tournament title of the season with a one-stroke victory over rival Clemson at the Palmetto Intercollegiate with a total of 825 (-15). The four tournament victories match a school record for most wins in a single season. The 1990-91 and 2008-09 Carolina teams also recorded four tournament wins.

Streaking into the Record Books
The Gamecocks became the first team in Carolina history to win three straight tournaments with their victory at the Palmetto Intercollegiate. Carolina won the Camden Collegiate Invitational to close out the fall and opened the spring with a win at the Bayou City Collegiate Championship before winning in Aiken this week.

Making it a Habit
The Gamecocks have finished in the top five in 14 of their last 17 tournaments dating back to last season, including seven tournament wins. Carolina matched the school record for top-five finishes in a single season last year with nine, including three wins.

Career Year
Junior Will Starke is playing some of the best golf of his career this season as he has finished in the top 15 in all six events, including five top fives and a tournament win, and he won his match against Virginia’s Ji Soo Park. His five top-five finishes are tied for the second most in a single season in school history with David Seawell (1993-94), Carl Paulson (1992-93) and Webb Heintzelman (1983-84). Starke has also shot in the 60s in 12 of his last 14 rounds and has only carded three rounds above par this season (73-73-78).

League Leaders
The Gamecocks enter the weekend leading the SEC in team scoring average (281.93) and tournament wins (4). Carolina also has a league best four golfers in the top 10 in the SEC in scoring average, as Will Starke is second (69.61), Matt NeSmith is fourth (70.94), Will Murphy is eighth (71.87) and Caleb Sturgeon is 10th (71.94).

McDonald’s 13
Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald is the winningest coach by tournament victories in school history with 13. McDonald broke the previous record of nine held by Puggy Blackmon (1995-2007) with Carolina’s win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate this fall. The Gamecocks then gave McDonald his 11th tournament title with a win at the Camden Collegiate Invitational to close out the fall. Carolina opened the spring by winning the Bayou City Collegiate Championship and then won the Palmetto Intercollegiate this week.

A Top 25 Program
Under the guidance of head coach Bill McDonald, South Carolina has consistently been ranked in the top 25 of several polls the last two years. The Gamecocks ended last year ranked No. 14 in the final Golfstat Rankings, No. 21 in the final regular-season Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the Golfweek Rankings. Carolina is currently ranked No. 8 in the Golfstat Relative Rankings, No. 14 in the Golf Coaches Association of America Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings.

Keeping it Low
Five Gamecocks currently have stroke averages in the 72s or lower. Junior Will Starke leads the way with an average of 69.61, followed by junior Matt NeSmith (70.94), senior Will Murphy (71.87), senior Caleb Sturgeon (71.94) and junior Sean Kelly (72.67). Last season Starke, NeSmith, Murphy and Sturgeon wrapped up the year with a stroke average in the 72s, which is the first time of record four golfers have done that in school history.

Gamecocks in the Golfstat Statistics Rankings
As a team South Carolina ranks fourth in the nation in average score (71.60) and sixth versus par (+0.41). The Gamecocks are 15th in par-3 scoring (3.14), sixth in par-4 scoring (4.06) and 14th in par-5 scoring (4.76). Carolina is tied for 13th in eagles (13) and 16th in subpar strokes per round (3.34). Individually, junior Will Starke ranks ninth nationally in scoring average (69.61), 12th versus par (-1.56), eighth in par-5 scoring (4.54) and tied for 13th in subpar strokes per round (4.61).

Rewriting the Record Book
Seniors Caleb Sturgeon and Will Murphy and juniors Will Starke and Matt NeSmith continue to climb up South Carolina’s career scoring average list. Starke currently ranks first all-time with an average of 72.03, while NeSmith isn’t far behind in second with an average of 72.15. Sturgeon ranks fifth all-time with an average of 72.89, while Murphy is eighth with an average of 73.14. Starke also has 10 career top-five finishes, which ranks fourth all-time at Carolina. NeSmith is tied for the seventh most career top-five finishes with seven.