March 28, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C — The fifth-ranked South Carolina men’s golf team will wrap up its regular-season schedule this week at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. The 54-hole event runs Sunday through Tuesday at the par-72, 7,282-yard Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Dates: Sunday, March 29-Tuesday, March 31
Location: Bulls Bay Golf Club (Par: 72, Yards: 7,282) – Awendaw, S.C.

Field: 15 teams (Auburn, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Duke, GRU Augusta, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest, Winthrop, Wisconsin)
Carolina’s First-Round Tee Time: TBA
Notes: Hootie at Bulls Bay
Live Scoring: Golfstat
From the Coach
“This team has been very, very consistent all year, especially since The Carmel Cup,” South Carolina assistant coach Alex Hamilton said. “I don’t think we have finished outside the top five since then. We’ve had lots of strong individual performances, and I think some of our golfers that have struggled a little bit this spring are starting to find their form. It’s looking like it could be a good postseason for us, hopefully.”
History at the Hootie
The Gamecocks helped organize the tournament in 2005 and are making their 11th-straight appearance at the Hootie. Carolina has five top-five finishes at the event, including runner-up finishes in 2006, 2008 and 2014. George Bryan IV has the Gamecocks’ best individual finish at the event as he claimed second in 2009 with a total of 201 (-12).

Last Time at the Hootie – March 23-25, 2014
Carolina came up just short of winning for the first time at Bulls Bay last season as it finished runner-up with a total of 855 (-9). Auburn finished three strokes ahead of the Gamecocks to win the title with a total of 852 (-12). Will Starke led the way with a seventh-place finish, posting a total of 212 (-4). Will Murphy and Ben Dietrich tied for 11th with a total of 214 (-2), while Matt NeSmith also finished in the top 20, tying for 20th with a total of 217 (+1).

Breaking Down the Field
A total of 15 teams will compete for the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate title this week. The Gamecocks enter the event as the highest ranked team in the field at No. 5 in the latest Golfstat Relative Rankings. Carolina has finished in the top five in seven-straight events, including four tournament wins. Tenth-ranked Auburn returns to the field as defending champion. The Tigers have won three-straight tournaments and have six top-five finishes this season. Virginia (No. 22), Wake Forest (No. 24), New Mexico (No. 29), North Carolina State (No. 41) and Duke (No. 50) are also ranked in the Golfstat top 50. Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, GRU Augusta, Kentucky, Missouri, Winthrop and Wisconsin round out the field. The Gamecocks have an 11-1 head-to-head record this season against teams in this week’s field.

Going for Five
A win at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate would be Carolina’s fifth this season, which would be a school record. The Gamecocks claimed a one-stroke victory over rival Clemson at the Palmetto Intercollegiate with a total of 825 (-15) on March 10 to match the school record with four wins. The 1990-91 and 2008-09 Carolina teams also recorded four tournament wins.

Extending the Streak
The Gamecocks have finished in the top five in seven-straight events. If Carolina finishes in the top-five for an eighth-straight event this week, it would be a school record. The Gamecocks placed in the top five in seven straight tournaments last season, with all seven being top-three showings. Carolina has finished in the top five in 16 of their last 19 events dating back to last season, including seven tournament wins.

Records Set to Fall
The Gamecocks are on pace to set several single-season school records. Carolina’s team scoring average is currently 281.76, which is 5.7 strokes lower than the school record of 287.46 set by last year’s squad. Junior Will Starke’s stroke average of 69.46 is 1.89 strokes lower than the school record of 71.35 held by George Bryan IV (2009-10). Starke has also tied the single-season record for top-five finishes with six with one regular-season tournament, the SEC Championship and at least the NCAA Regionals left on the schedule.

Three Straight a First
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.

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 eight events, including six top fives and a tournament win, and he won his match against Virginia’s Ji Soo Park. His six top-five finishes are tied for the most in a single season in school history with Kyle Thompson (1998-99). Starke has also shot in the 60s in 16 of his last 20 rounds.

Gamecocks in the SEC Statistics Rankings
The Gamecocks enter the weekend ranked first in the SEC in tournament wins (4) and second in team scoring average (281.76). Carolina also two golfers in the top 10 in the SEC in scoring average, as Will Starke leads the league (69.46) and Matt NeSmith ranks 10th (70.88).

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. 5 in the Golfstat Relative Rankings, No. 8 in the Golf Coaches Association of America Coaches Poll and No. 7 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 69.46, followed by junior Matt NeSmith (70.88), senior Will Murphy (72.10), senior Caleb Sturgeon (72.13) and junior Sean Kelly (72.71). 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 third in the nation in average score (71.59) and sixth versus par (+0.33). The Gamecocks are 14th in par-3 scoring (3.14), sixth in par-4 scoring (4.06) and 13th in par-5 scoring (4.76). Carolina ranks fifth in eagles (19) and 16th in subpar strokes per round (3.34). Individually, junior Will Starke ranks fifth nationally in scoring average (69.46), eighth versus par (-1.79), 12th in par-4 scoring (3.95), 14th in par-5 scoring (4.59), first in eagles (9) and 10th in subpar strokes per round (3.55).

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 71.79, while NeSmith isn’t far behind in second with an average of 72.05. Sturgeon ranks fourth all-time with an average of 72.80, while Murphy is tied for seventh with an average of 73.12. Starke also has 11 career top-five finishes, which is tied for the third most all-time at Carolina with George Bryan IV (2006-10). NeSmith is tied for the seventh most career top-five finishes with seven.