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

Oct. 17, 2015

TOURNAMENT LINEUP
1. MATT NESMITH
2015-16 Stats
Events: 2
Rounds: 6
Average: 72.17
Low 54: 216
Low 18: 70
2. WILL STARKE
2015-16 Stats
Events: 1
Rounds: 3
Average: 76.67
Low 54: 230
Low 18: 72
3. SEAN KELLY
2015-16 Stats
Events: 2
Rounds: 6
Average: 74.00
Low 54: 218
Low 18: 70
4. KEENAN HUSKEY
2015-16 Stats
Events: 2
Rounds: 6
Average: 74.50
Low 54: 222
Low 18: 72
5. SCOTT STEVENS
2015-16 Stats
Events: 2
Rounds: 6
Average: 73.50
Low 54: 220
Low 18: 71
The Field
Team (Rank*)
1. Arizona State (10)
2. Augusta (32)
3. California (15)
4. UCF (102)
5. Florida (23)
6. Illinois (3)
7. UNLV (54)
8. North Carolina (16)
9. North Florida (60)
10. New Mexico (55)
11. Ohio State (70)
12. South Carolina (26)
13. Texas Tech (51)
14. Vanderbilt (17)
15. Washington State (110)

* Golfstat ranking as of Oct. 14

Tournament Quick Facts

Dates: Oct. 18-20

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Course: Isleworth Golf & Country Club

Par: 72

Yards: 7,544

Recent Headlines

“> “> “> “> “>

2015-16 Schedule
Dates Event Finish
9/11-13 Carpet Capital Collegiate
Rocky Face, Ga.
3rd of 15
9/28-29 Shoal Creek Invitational
Birmingham, Ala.
6th of 12
10/18-20 Tavistock Collegiate Invitational
Orlando, Fla.
10/24-25 Camden Collegiate Invitational
Camden, S.C.
11/6-8 Ka’anapali Collegiate Invitational
Lahaina, Hawaii
2/19-21 Bayou City Collegiate Championship
Humble, Texas
3/7-8 Palmetto Intercollegiate
Aiken, S.C.
3/12-13 General Hackler Championship
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
3/21-22 Valspar Collegiate Invitational
Palm City, Fla.
4/3-5 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate
Awendaw, S.C.
4/15-17 SEC Championship
St. Simons Island, Ga.
5/16-18 NCAA Regionals
TBA
5/27-6/1 NCAA Championship
Eugene, Ore.

South Carolina’s men’s golf team is back in action this weekend playing in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational at Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Fla., from Sunday through Tuesday. Competing for the Gamecocks at the event are seniors Matt NeSmith, Will Starke and Sean Kelly, sophomore Keenan Huskey and freshman Scott Stevens.

The Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Texas Tech and UCF, is one of the premier collegiate golf tournaments in the country. Each year, 15 of the nation’s top golf programs are invited to experience college golf’s major championship. The Tavistock Collegiate Invitational rotates between Isleworth Golf & Country Club and Tavistock Group’s sister property, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.

The final round of the 2014 Tavistock Collegiate Invitational was a neck-and-neck race between Florida State and Vanderbilt, but in the end, FSU prevailed. The Seminoles combined for five birdies on the final three holes to pull out the victory. Rowin Caron notched four birdies on the back nine to help seal a three-shot win for Florida State. Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart took home medalist honors by shooting two-under on the final two holes.

COACH BILL MCDONALD ON THE EVENT

“It’s always a strong field and it’s been a few years since we played down there. The golf course, as I remember it, is more of a second-shot-type golf course where the style of play needs to be very precise going into the greens. Typically, you have a little bit of wind in the Orlando area this time of year in the fall, so it usually plays pretty tough. Most of our guys I don’t think have ever seen the golf course, so Saturday’s practice round will be very important to make sure we do a good job there preparing. I know the guys are excited about playing and it’s going to be some great competition.”

BREAKING DOWN THE TAVISTOCK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL

Six of the 15 teams competing in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational own top-25 rankings in the latest Golfstat Relative Rankings released Wednesday, Oct. 14. Atop the lineup is Illinois at No. 3 followed by Arizona State at No. 10, California at No. 15, North Carolina at No. 16, Vanderbilt at No. 17 and Florida at No. 23. Seven of the teams reached the NCAA Championship to include South Carolina along with Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt. Illinois and Vandy were two of the eight teams that advanced to the match championship rounds. The Fighting Illini reached the semifinals before losing to Southern California, while Vanderbilt lost in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion LSU. Cal, North Carolina, North Florida, New Mexico and Ohio State qualified for NCAA Regionals last season as well.

RECAPPING THE SHOAL CREEK INVITATIONAL

Senior Sean Kelly led the Gamecocks with a 2-under 70 on the final day of the Shoal Creek Invitational, as Carolina finished the tournament in sixth place with a 54-hole total of 876 (+12). The Gamecocks entered the day in a tie for second at 6-over (582) with North Florida and College of Charleston, all seven strokes behind tournament host UAB (-1, 575) after 36 holes. The Blazers ran away with the tournament on the final day, shooting 12-under to win by 15 strokes over North Florida. Kelly shot 2-over for the tournament after carding a pair of 74s in the first two rounds combined with his 70 on the final day and took a tie for 12th place on the individual leaderboard at 218, his eighth career top-20 finish. Classmate Matt NeSmith was the low man for the Gamecocks at the tournament for the second time this fall in as many events with a 216 (73-70-73) to finish even and tied for seventh, the 19th top-10 finish of his career.

RECAPPING THE CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE

The Gamecocks posted a final-round 296 (+8) on Sunday, Sept. 13, at The Farm Golf Club to finish in third place at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. South Carolina wrapped up the weekend with a 54-hole total of 880 (+16). Auburn captured the tournament title with a total of 868 (+4) after shooting a 287 (-1) on the final day. Carolina senior Matt NeSmith recorded his 18th career top-10 finish as he tied for seventh with a total of 217 (+1) after shooting a final-round 74 (+2). He tallied a pair of birdies and four bogeys on the afternoon. Freshman Scott Stevens concluded a solid debut for the Gamecocks with a tie for 14th with a total of 221 (+5). Stevens carded a 76, which included one birdie and five bogeys.

EXPERIENCE RETURNS

Carolina returns seven golfers from last year’s squad, including seniors Matt NeSmith, Will Starke and Sean Kelly. The senior trio has played in a combined 97 tournaments for the Gamecocks during their careers and has recorded 36 top-10 finishes. Starke (second-team PING and Golfweek) and NeSmith (third-team PING and Golfweek) were named All-Americans last season and both earned first-team PING All-Southeast Region and All-SEC honors. They collected spots on the Golfweek Preseason All-America teams this fall with NeSmith landing on the first team and Starke on the third team. Junior Ben Dietrich has played in 15 tournaments for the Gamecocks, including the 2014 NCAA Championship, while sophomore Keenan Huskey has played in five tournaments and every event this fall. Senior Brendan Gramley has played in two tournaments as an individual.

CHASING RECORDS

Seniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke entered the season with several career school records within reach. The duo sits in spots one and two for career scoring average with NeSmith in the top position at 71.81 and Starke right on his heels at 71.95. Starke is tied for third in career top-five finishes with 11, while NeSmith is tied for fifth with nine. Kyle Thompson and David Seawell share the school record with 14. NeSmith moved into sole possession of fourth place for career top-10s after tying for seventh at the Carpet Capital Collegiate to open the fall and now has 19 for his career with a seventh-place showing at the Shoal Creek Invitational. He is one shy of tying Eirik Johansen and Seawell for second place. Starke is tied for seventh with 14. Thompson holds the record with 22.

STARKE COMPETES IN EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT

Senior Will Starke competed in his first career European Tour event in late September, the Porsche European Open at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach in Bad Griesbach, Germany. Starke carded a 2-over 73 on his first day followed by a 1-under on the second for a 1-over 143 in two days. He finished in a tie for 100th place.

MCDONALD’S 14

Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald is the winningest coach by tournament victories in school history with 14. McDonald broke the previous record of nine held by Puggy Blackmon (1995-2007) with Carolina’s win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in September 2014.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTOR

Newcomer Scott Stevens has quickly established himself as a potential fixture in the Gamecocks’ lineup throughout the season having now appeared in South Carolina’s top five for each tournament. He finished in a tie for 14th place in his first tournament, the Carpet Capital Collegiate, and followed with a tie for 20th at the Shoal Creek Invitational. Stevens currently leads the team in first-round scoring average with a 71.00 and is tops on the squad in par 3 scoring average as well with a 3.04 through two tournaments.

A LOOK BACK AT THE 2014-15 SEASON

Carolina turned in one of the greatest seasons in school history in 2014-15. The Gamecocks won a school-record five tournament titles, recorded a program-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 wrapped up the year ranked No. 6 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and No. 7 in the Golfstat Relative Rankings. Carolina finished tied for second at the SEC Championship and runner-up at the NCAA Bremerton Regional to earn its third-straight trip to the NCAA Championship. Individually, the Gamecocks combined for 33 top-20 finishes in team events, including 11 top-fives and three tournament wins. Will Starke finished the year with the lowest single-season scoring average in program history (70.27), while NeSmith finished with the second lowest (70.51). NeSmith also became the second Gamecock to win an SEC title as he claimed a 6-stroke victory at the SEC Championship with a school-record 54-hole total of 196 (-14).

AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD

South Carolina seniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke are listed in the latest Golfweek/Amateurgolf.com World Player Rankings. Nesmith is ranked eighth in the world and sixth in the U.S., while Starke is ranked No. 189 in the world and 77th nationally. In the Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings, NeSmith is ranked No. 8 and Starke is ranked 50th.

THREE STRAIGHT TRIPS TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Gamecocks made their third-straight appearance at the NCAA Championship last season. Carolina is one of only four SEC schools and 13 programs nationally to earn a trip to the NCAA Championship each of the last three years. Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Texas, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Washington, UCLA and Southern California also punched their tickets to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championships.

A TOP-10 PROGRAM

Carolina wrapped up 2014-15 ranked in the top-10 in both the Golfstat Relative Rankings and Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 6 by Golfweek and No. 7 by Golfstat. South Carolina is currently ranked No. 26 by Golfstat and No. 24 by Golfweek.