Aug. 28, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s golf team is ranked No. 8 in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Friday.

The Gamecocks enter the year with plenty of momentum after turning in one of the greatest seasons in school history in 2014-15. Carolina won a school-record five tournament titles, recorded a school-record 10 top-five finishes and shattered the school record for team scoring average in a season by more than four strokes (282.85). The Gamecocks finished tied for second at the SEC Championship, with Matt NeSmith winning the individual SEC title by six strokes with a school-record total of 196 (-14). Carolina finished runner-up at the NCAA Bremerton Regional to earn its third-straight trip to the NCAA Championship.

Carolina is one of seven SEC schools ranked in the poll, joining No. 2 LSU, No. 9 Auburn, No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 12 Georgia, No. 17 Alabama and No. 23 Florida.

The Gamecocks will open the 2015-16 season on Sept. 11-13 at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. The 54-hole event will be contested at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga. Carolina is the defending tournament champion.

BUSHNELL GOLFWEEK PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Illinois
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Florida State
5. Southern California
6. Arizona State
7. UCLA
8. South Carolina
9. Auburn
T10. Stanford
T10. Vanderbilt
12. Georgia
13. Georgia Tech
14. USF
15. Oregon
16. Oklahoma State
17. Alabama
18. Oklahoma
19. Washington
T20. SMU
T20. Wake Forest
22. North Carolina
23. Florida
24. Virginia
25. Baylor