June 11, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina juniors Will Starke and Matt NeSmith have been named Golfweek All-Americans, Golfweek announced Thursday.

Starke earned a spot on the second team, while NeSmith garnered third-team honors. The All-American honor is the first for Starke, while NeSmith has been named an All-American for the second time in his career after earning PING Honorable Mention honors as a freshman.

With Starke and NeSmith leading the way, the Gamecocks turned in one of the greatest seasons in program history in 2014-15, winning a school record five tournament titles, recording a school-record 10 top-five finishes and shattering the school record for team scoring average in a season by more than four strokes (282.85).

A native of Chapin, S.C., Starke led the team with a stroke average of 70.27, which is the lowest for a single season in school history. He finished 16th or better in 10 of 12 events this season, including one tournament win, and matched the school record for top-five finishes in a season with six. He placed 16th at the NCAA Championship with a 72-hole total of 289 (+1). Starke, a first-team All-SEC selection and PING All-Southeast Region selection, shot under par in 26 of 37 rounds this season, including 19 rounds in the 60s.

A first-team All-SEC and PING All-Southeast Region selection, NeSmith finished with a season stroke average of 70.51, which ranks second in program history for a single season. He finished in the top 20 in eight of 12 tournaments, including two tournament wins. He became just the second Gamecock to win an SEC title as he claimed a six-stroke victory at the SEC Championship with a school-record 54-hole total of 196 (-14). A native of North Augusta, S.C., NeSmith posted 18 rounds under par, including 14 rounds in the 60s.

Earlier this week, NeSmith continued his stellar year by winning a sectional at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga. with a 36-hole total of 127 (-17) to qualify for the 115th U.S. Open Championship. NeSmith and former Gamecock All-American Mark Silvers will tee off at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay on June 18-21 in University Place, Wash.

GOLFWEEK ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Maverick McNealy, Stanford
Jon Rahm, Arizona State
Cheng Tsung Pan, Washington
Hunter Stewart, Vanderbilt
Lee McCoy, Georgia
Thomas Detry, Illinois
Beau Hossler, Texas
Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech
Jack Maguire, Florida State
Bryson Dechambeau, SMU

SECOND TEAM
Robby Shelton, Alabama
Max Rottluff, Arizona State
Brian Campbell, Illinois
Clement Sordet, Texas Tech
Gavin Green, New Mexico
Hank Lebioda, Florida State
Kyle Jones, Baylor
Charlie Danielson, Illinois
Will Starke, South Carolina
Matthias Schwab, Vanderbilt

THIRD TEAM
Jonathan Garrick, UCLA
Scottie Scheffler, Texas
Will Zalatoris, Wake Forest
Zach Seabolt, Winthrop
Matt NeSmith, South Carolina
Xander Schauffele, San Diego State
Sean Crocker, USC
Brandon Pierce, LSU
Adrian Meronk, East Tennessee State
Rowin Caron, Florida State

HONORABLE MENTION
Denny McCarthy, Virginia
Gavin Hall, Texas
Rico Hoey, USC
Scott Wolfes, Georgia South
Jordan Niebrugge, Oklahoma State
Ben Griffin, North Carolina
Anders Albertson, Georgia Tech
Michael Gellerman, Oklahoma
Doug Ghim, Texas
Ben Schlottman, Auburn
Shotaro Ban, California
Corey Pereira, Washington
Scott Vincent, Virginia Tech
J.T. Poston, Western Carolina
Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Louisville
Chase Koepka, South Florida
John Oda, UNLV
Rigel Fernandes, South Florida
Taylor Moore, Arkansas
Trevor Cone, Virginia Tech