Oct. 24, 2015

CAMDEN, S.C. – Led by sophomore Keenan Huskey and freshman Will Miles, the South Carolina men’s golf team built a commanding 22-stroke lead over the field on day one of the Camden Collegiate Invitational on Saturday. The Gamecocks, the host of the 54-hole event, totaled a score of 7-under (553) through two rounds, including a program record 265 (-15) in the second round.

South Carolina posted a 288 (+8) in the opening round before catching fire in the afternoon. Four Gamecocks finished under par in the second round, including freshman Scott Stevens and redshirt senior Sean Kelly, who both shot a 5-under (65) over their last 18 holes on Saturday.

Huskey and Miles both sit in second place individually with a score of 3-under for the tournament. Huskey made the turn at 1-under (34) on his opening front nine before adding a birdie on No. 17 to finish with a first-round score of 69 (-1).

After an even 35 on the front nine in round two, Huskey found his stroke later in the afternoon. He notched back-to-back birdies on holes No. 12 and 13 before tallying his final birdie of the day on the par-4 15th.

Miles carded four birdies and finished at an even (70) in his opening round on Saturday. The Hilton Head, S.C., native added four more birdies in the afternoon and recorded just one bogey over his final 18 holes.

Stevens and Kelly both sit in the top-20 following their strong finishes on Saturday. Stevens (T-8, +2) opened with a round of 7-over (77), but recovered in round two after notching six birdies. He made the turn in the afternoon at 5-under (30) before firing an even (35) over his last nine holes.

After an opening round 79 (+9), Kelly (T-14, +4) bounced back with seven birdies in round two. He closed the front nine in the afternoon with birdies on four of the last six holes before ending his day with birdies on holes No. 13, 16 and 17.

Freshman Ryan Stachler will head into Sunday’s final round in 19th place after totaling a score of 145 (+5) through two rounds. He opened with an up-and-down round that included six birdies and three bogeys before posting a 3-over (73) in the afternoon. Playing as individuals, sophomore Alex Handy tallied a two-round score of 17-over (157), while senior Brendan Gramley turned in a 19-over (159).

Wofford sits (+15) sits in second place following Saturday’s action, while Furman (+20) and USCA (+20) are both tied for third. Wofford’s Andrew Novak holds the individual lead at 6-under through two rounds.

Quoting Coach Bill McDonald

Round Changer

Notable

• Kelly and Stevens both set personal-best 18-hole scores after recording 5-unders (65) in Saturday’s second round.
• South Carolina ranks in the top two in the field in all three hole scoring averages. The Gamecocks are second in par three (3.16) and par five (4.73) scoring average, and they lead all schools in par four (4.05) scoring average.
• South Carolina’s 37 birdies are the most in the field through two rounds of the tournament.
• Saturday was the first time four Gamecocks finished under par in the same round this season. Huskey (-2), Miles (-3), Stevens (-5) and Kelley (-5) all shot under par in the second round.
• This weekend marked the first collegiate event for freshman Will Miles. The Hilton Head, S.C., native opened with an even (70) and sits in second place after a second-round score of 67 (-3).

Up Next

The Gamecocks will wrap up the fall season in Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Invitational over Nov. 6-8 at Royal Ka’anapali Course.