Gamecocks Sit In Second Place After Day One Of Tavistock Invitational

Oct. 18, 2015

TAVISTOCK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
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GAMECOCK SCORECARDS

1. MATT NESMITH
Round 1: 69 (-3)
Round 2:
Round 3:
To Par: -3
Place: T-4th

2. WILL STARKE
Round 1: 71 (-1)
Round 2:
Round 3:
To Par: -1
Place: T-9

3. SEAN KELLY
Round 1: 73 (+1)
Round 2:
Round 3:
To Par: +1
Place: T-20

4. KEENAN HUSKEY
Round 1: 71 (-1)
Round 2:
Round 3:
To Par: -1
Place: T-9

5. SCOTT STEVENS
Round 1: 76 (+4)
Round 2:
Round 3:
To Par: +4
Place: T-76

Pos.	Team	R1	R2	R3	Total
1.	California	279			279 (-9)
2.	South Carolina	284			284 (-4)
3.	Arizona State	285			285 (-3)
4.	Illinois	286			286 (-2)
5.	North Carolina	287			287(-1)
T-6.	North Florida	290			290 (+2)
T-6.	Vanderbilt	290			290 (+2)
8.	Texas Tech	293			293 (+5)
9.	Ohio State	296			296 (+8)
T-10.	UNLV	298			298 (+10)
T-10.	Augusta	298			298 (+10)
12.	Florida	303			303 (+15)
13.	UCF	304			304 (+16)
T-14.	New Mexico	307			307 (+19)
T-14.	Washington State	307			307 (+19)

Dates: Oct. 18-20

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Course: Isleworth Golf & Country Club

Par: 72

Yards: 7,544

ORLANDO, Fla. — Seniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke and sophomore Keenan Huskey each carded rounds under par for the South Carolina men’s golf team, which opened the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational with a 4-under (284) on Sunday at the Isleworth Country Club in Orlando. The Gamecocks sit in second place and will head into Monday five strokes back of California (9-under).

NeSmith continued his solid play this season and finished the first round in a tie for fourth place (3-under) after tallying four birdies. The North Augusta, S.C., native, who recorded just one bogey in his round, collected birdies on holes No. 5 and 7 before making the turn at 2-under (34). Back-to-back birdies on No. 13 and 14 gave NeSmith the solo lead (4-under), and he registered a par on No. 18 to post an opening round score of 69.

Starke and Huskey sit in a tie for ninth place overall after turning in scores of 1-under (71) in their opening rounds. Starke made the turn at 1-over (37) following three straight bogeys on the front nine, but he recovered on the back after an eagle on the par-5 13th. He finished his day with three birdies.

Huskey notched four birdies on Sunday, starting on hole No. 4. He followed that up with another birdie on No. 5, and he made the turn at even (36). The South Carolina sophomore carded his final birdie of the round on No. 17.

Redshirt senior Sean Kelly (T-20) posted a 1-over (73) in his opening round, while freshman Scott Stevens finished the day in a tie for 49th place after firing a 4-over (76). Kelly shot an up-and-down round that included five birdies and four bogeys. Stevens recorded birdies on holes No. 2 and 11 before recording a triple bogey on the par-5 13th.

Arizona State sits in third place following a 3-under (285) on Sunday, while Illinois (286, 2-under) and North Carolina (287, 1-under) round out the top five. Collin Morikawa of California holds the individual lead at 5-under (67).

Quoting Coach Bill McDonald

“It was a nice opening round and I thought we looked really good out there today. The next couple of days will be a challenge as the forecast is calling for pretty strong winds. We did a great job of staying patient today and grinding it out. Hopefully we can continue that kind of effort.”

Round Changer

NeSmith once again paced the Gamecocks after tallying birdies on back-to-back holes (No. 13 and 14) on the back nine. He finished as one of three South Carolina golfers to card at least four birdies on Sunday.

Notable

South Carolina’s 4-under (284) on Sunday marked its lowest round this fall.
For the third straight tournament, the Gamecocks ended the first round in second place or better. South Carolina stood in a tie for second place in each of their previous two events.
Sunday marked the first time this season that Gamecocks finished a round with three golfers under par.
South Carolina’s 18 birdies on Sunday ranked second among the field. California carded 26 birdies in its opening round.
The Gamecocks boasted the second-best par 4 scoring average (4.04) in the first round.

Up Next

The Gamecocks will be back in action next week hosting the Camden Collegiate Invitational over Oct. 24-25 at Camden Country Club in Camden, S.C.