Nov. 6, 2015
| 1. KEENAN HUSKEY Round 1: 70 (-1) Round 2: Round 3: To Par: -1 Place: T-18 |
| 2. MATT NESMITH Round 1: 72 (+1) Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +1 Place: T-32 |
| 3. WILL STARKE Round 1: 72 (+1) Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +1 Place: T-32 |
| 4. WILL MILES Round 1: 72 (+1) Round 2: Round 3: To Par: +1 Place: T-32 |
| 5. SCOTT STEVENS Round 1: 70 (-1) Round 2: Round 3: To Par: -1 Place: T-18 |
LAHAINA, MAUI, Hawaii – Sophomore Keenan Huskey and freshman Scott Stevens both recorded rounds of 1-under (70) for the South Carolina men’s golf team, which opened the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic with an even (284) on Friday at the Ka’anapali Golf Course. The Gamecocks end the first round of the three-day event in fourth place and will enter Saturday eight strokes back of leader Oklahoma (-8).
Huskey (T-18), who earned medalist honors in South Carolina’s win at the Camden Collegiate Invitational last month (Oct. 25), led the Gamecocks with five birdies in Friday’s opening round. After making the turn at 3-over (37), the Aiken, S.C., native caught fire on the back nine, and he finished his round with birdies in two of his final five holes.
Stevens turned in a steady round that included 13 pars to go along with three birdies and just two bogeys. His first birdie of the day on the par-5 sixth dropped him to even, and the freshman ended his round with birdies on holes No. 9 and 12 to finish his day in a tie for 18th place.
A trio of Gamecocks, seniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke and freshman Will Miles, carded rounds of 1-over (72) on Friday and stand in a tie for the 32nd second place following day one. NeSmith earned pars on 15 of his 18 holes and recorded his lone birdie of the day on hole No. 6.
Starke also tallied a birdie on No. 6 after beginning his day with a birdie on the par-4 12th. Miles shot an up-and-down round, finishing with four bogeys and three birdies. He played his final nine holes at even after making the turn at 1-over following a bogey on the par-4 13th.
The Sooners (-8) sit three shots clear of the field following a 276 on Friday. North Carolina State (-5) is in second place, while Hawaii (-2) rounds out the top three. Long Beach State’s Jonny Hogan holds the individual lead after firing a 6-under (65) in round one.
Round Changer
Sophomore Keenan Huskey’s strong back nine performance pushed the Gamecocks up the leaderboard in the opening round. All five of the Greenville, S.C., native’s birdies on Friday came over his final nine holes.
Notable
- Huskey has now shot under par in each of his last four rounds of competition for the Gamecocks. He finished 5-under on his way to first place at last month’s Camden Invitational.
- Huskey and Stevens both took advantage of the par fives on Friday. Huskey’s par five scoring average (4.00) ranked second in round one, while Stevens was third (4.33) in the field in the scoring category.
- South Carolina’s 61 pars on Friday were the second-most in the field. Liberty led all schools with an opening-round total of 62 pars.
- NeSmith’s 15 pars in round one marked the second-highest total individually.
-
Up Next
The Gamecocks are off the next three months and return to action Feb. 19-21 at the Bayou City Collegiate Championship in Humble, Texas.
Related stories
-
![No. 23 Gamecocks Take Fifth at Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational]()
No. 23 Gamecocks Take Fifth at Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational
Redshirt junior Frankie Harris led the team again this week with another top-five finish
-
![No. 23 Gamecocks Set for Fall Finale at Fallen Oak]()
No. 23 Gamecocks Set for Fall Finale at Fallen Oak
South Carolina will seek to keep it's top-three finish streak alive in strong field with five top-25 teams
-
![Gamecocks Take Second at Everett Buick GMC Classic]()
Gamecocks Take Second at Everett Buick GMC Classic
Sophomore transfer Brock Blais finished T-8th to lead the team, recording his first career top-10 in Garnet and Black
