Skip to main content
Partner logo
Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Mobile Icon Link Gamecocks+

March 23, 2015

Results Get Acrobat Reader

PALM CITY, Fla. — After grinding through 36 holes on Monday at Floridian National Golf Club, the seventh-ranked South Carolina men’s golf team is in third place at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational with a total of 564 (-4).

The Gamecocks shot an opening-round 285 (+1) before posting a 5-under 279 in the second round. Carolina will enter Tuesday’s final round trailing LSU by 11 strokes. The Tigers lead the tournament with a total of 553 (-15) and hold a one-stroke lead over second-place Florida State (554). South Florida is in fourth place with a total of 568 (E), while UCLA rounds out the top five with a total of 574 (+6).

Three Gamecock golfers finished the day inside the top 20. Senior Will Murphy carded consecutive rounds of 70 (-1) and is tied for ninth with a total of 140 (-2). Junior Matt NeSmith is tied for 15th with a total of 141 (-1) after shooting rounds of 70 (-1) and 71 (E). Senior Caleb Sturgeon bounced back from an opening-round 75 (+4) to fire a 4-under 67 in the second round. Sturgeon finished the day in a tie for 17th with a total of 142 (E).

Juniors Will Starke and Sean Kelly closed out the day in a tie for 41st with a total of 148 (+6). Starke turned in rounds of 70 (-1) and 78 (+7), while Kelly shot rounds of 77 (+6) and 71 (E).

Texas A&M’s Greg Yates sits atop the individual leaderboard with a total of 134 (-8) after shooting consecutive rounds of 67.

Round Changer
Sturgeon shook off an opening-round 75 (+4) to fire a 4-under 67 to lead the Gamecocks in the second round. After recording just two birdies in the first round, Sturgeon tallied a team-best eight in the final 18 holes, including back-to-back birdies on his final two holes of the day.

Notable
• Carolina was one of only five teams to post a round under par on Monday. The Gamecocks’ second-round 279 (-5) was one of only 7 sub-par rounds out of 26. LSU and Florida State shot four of those rounds.
• The Gamecocks are one of five top-10 teams competing at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational. Second-ranked Florida State is the only one ahead of the Gamecocks in second at 14-under. Tenth-ranked UCLA is fifth at 6-over. Top-ranked Illinois is eighth at 12-over, while No. 5 Georgia Tech is tied for ninth at 16-over.
• A top-five finish on Tuesday would be Carolina’s seventh straight. The Gamecocks have finished in the top five in 15 of their last 18 events heading into this week.
• NeSmith and Sturgeon are tied for second in total birdies with 10.
• Starke and Murphy each recorded an Eagle for the Gamecocks.
• Starke’s opening-round 70 (-1) broke his streak of eight-straight rounds in the 60s. His second-round 78 is his first round over par since shooting a 78 in the first round of the Bayou City Collegiate Championship on Feb. 20.

Up Next
The Gamecocks will tee off in the final round on Tuesday beginning at 9:33 a.m. and will be paired with LSU and Florida State. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
Pos. Name R1 R2 Total To Par
T9. Will Murphy 70 70 140 -2
T15. Matt NeSmith 70 71 141 -1
T17. Caleb Sturgeon 75 67 142 E
T41. Will Starke 70 78 148 +6
T41. Sean Kelly 77 71 148 +6
TEAM STANDINGS
Pos. Team R1 R2 Total To Par
1. LSU 273 280 553 -15
2. Florida State 278 276 554 -14
3. South Carolina 285 279 564 -4
4. South Florida 281 287 568 E
5. UCLA 294 280 574 +6
6. Oklahoma State 290 287 577 +9
7. Texas A&M 290 289 579 +11
8. Illinois 287 293 580 +12
T9. Georgia Tech 296 288 584 +16
T9. Houston 298 286 584 +16
11. Kent State 300 290 590 +22
12. Tennessee 298 296 594 +26
13. Memphis 305 291 596 +28