Gamecocks Finish Ninth At Tavistock Invitational

Oct. 20, 2015

TAVISTOCK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
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GAMECOCK SCORECARDS

1. MATT NESMITH
Round 1: 69 (-3)
Round 2: 79 (+7)
Round 3: 72 (E)
To Par: +4
Place: T-16th

2. WILL STARKE
Round 1: 71 (-1)
Round 2: 76 (+4)
Round 3: 77 (+5)
To Par: +8
Place: T-34

3. SEAN KELLY
Round 1: 73 (+1)
Round 2: 82 (+10)
Round 3: 73 (+1)
To Par: +12
Place: T-49

4. KEENAN HUSKEY
Round 1: 71 (-1)
Round 2: 79 (+7)
Round 3: 73 (+1)
To Par: +7
Place: T-28

5. SCOTT STEVENS
Round 1: 76 (+4)
Round 2: 76 (+4)
Round 3: 75 (+3)
To Par: +11
Place: T-46

Pos.	Team	R1	R2	R3	Total
1.	Illinois	286	292	287	865 (+1)
2.	Arizona State	285	294	290	869 (+5)
3.	California	279	290	309	878 (+14)
4.	Vanderbilt	290	294	297	881 (+17)
T-5.	Florida	303	289	290	882 (+18)
T-5.	North Carolina	287	301	294	882 (+18)
T-7.	North Florida	290	293	300	883 (+19)
T-7.	Texas Tech	293	296	294	883 (+19)
9.	South Carolina	284	310	293	887 (+23)
10.	Augusta	298	296	295	889 (+25)
11.	UNLV	298	306	291	895 (+31)
12.	New Mexico	307	304	296	907 (+43)
13.	Ohio State	296	304	310	910 (+46)
14.	UCF	304	309	299	912 (+48)
15.	Washington State	307	312	297	916 (+52)

Dates: Oct. 18-20

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Course: Isleworth Golf & Country Club

Par: 72

Yards: 7,544

ORLANDO, Fla. – South Carolina men’s golf senior Matt NeSmith earned a 16th-place finish (+4, 220) at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational after carding an even (72) in the tournament’s final round on Tuesday at the Isleworth Country Club. The Gamecocks finished ninth in the event with an overall score of 887 (+23).

NeSmith notched three birdies on Tuesday, starting on the par-5 seventh. He made the turn at 1-under (35) before registering birdies on No. 13 and his final hole of the day, the par-4 18th. The Gamecock standout recorded just three bogeys in his final round.

Sophomore Keenan Huskey also turned in a solid final round, recording a 1-over (73). The Greenville, S.C., native, who finished the event in a tie for 28th (+7, 223), made the turn at 2-under (34) after tallying birdies on holes No. 3 and 5. His final birdie of the day came on the par-4 12th.

Senior Will Starke earned a 34th-place finish (+8, 224) after posting a 5-over (77) on Tuesday. He once again shot an up-and-down round, as the Gamecock standout notched five birdies to go along with four bogeys and a quadruple bogey on the par-3 15th. Starke finished the week with 10 birdies.

Redshirt senior Sean Kelly recorded a 1-over (73) in the final round on his way to a 49th-place finish (+12, 228), while freshman Scott Stevens shot a 3-over (75) and ended the tournament in a tie for 46th (+11, 227). Kelly earned pars on 15 of his 18 holes on Tuesday, and Stevens registered two birdies on the front nine to bring his tournament total to five.

Illinois (+1, 865) won the Tavistock Invitational after rallying from a nine-stroke deficit in the third round. Arizona State (+5, 869) finished second, while California, which led after two rounds, finished third (+14, 878) after shooting a 21-over (309) on Tuesday. ASU’s Jon Rahm earned medalist honors following a 6-under (210) performance at the event.

Quoting Coach Bill McDonald

“I thought we came out and played a lot better today. I was proud of our guys for responding well after our struggles yesterday. This team has yet to put three straight good rounds in a row, but I’m seeing some signs that we are headed in the right direction.”

Round Changer

A birdie on his final hole of the day (Par-4 18th) secured an even (72) for senior Matt NeSmith. The North Augusta, S.C., native tallied rounds of even par or better on two of the three days of the Tavistock Invitational.

Notable

Matt NeSmith’s 16th-place finish marked his third straight top-20 finish this fall. The senior standout boasts 27 career top-20 finishes.
NeSmith’s 12 birdies throughout the three-day event were tied for the second-most in the field.
Three Gamecocks finished the tournament with double-digit birdies. NeSmith led Carolina with 12, while sophomore Keenan Huskey (11) and senior Will Starke (10) both boasted at least 10 birdies for the tournament.
Freshman Scott Stevens sported the third-lowest par 3 scoring average (3.00) for the week. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native saw his streak of top-20 finishes snap on Tuesday following a 46th-place finish.
South Carolina’s five-over (293) on Tuesday was the fifth-lowest score in the tournament’s final 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.