NeSmith Guides Gamecocks to Third Place at All-American Intercollegiate

Feb. 21, 2016

ALL-AMERICAN INTERCOLLEGIATE
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GAMECOCK SCORECARDS

Keenan Huskey
Round 1: 77
Round 2: 73
Round 3: 75
To Par: +9
Place: t46th

Sean Kelly
Round 1: 73
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 78
To Par: +6
Place: t31st

Matt NeSmith
Round 1: 72
Round 2: 71
Round 3: 67
To Par: -6
Place: 2nd

Will Starke
Round 1: 74
Round 2: 72
Round 3: 75
To Par: +5
Place: t26th

Scott Stevens
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 74
Round 3: 74
To Par: +3
Place: t21st

Will Miles (Ind.)
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 76
Round 3: 67
To Par: -2
Place: t7th

Pos.	Team	R1	R2	R3	Total
1.	Arkansas	300	276	279	855 (-9)
2.	Houston	278	285	293	856 (-8)
3.	South Carolina	290	287	291	868 (+4)
4.	Baylor	296	288	292	876 (+12)
5.	SMU	293	295	290	878 (+14)
6.	Troy	299	292	290	881 (+17)
7.	Charleston Southern	298	293	294	885 (+21)
8.	UTSA	293	302	295	890 (+26)
9.	Louisiana Tech	298	291	302	891 (+27)
10.	McNeese State	300	300	292	892 (+28)
11.	Charlotte	307	296	300	903 (+39)
12.	New Mexico State	306	299	302	907 (+43)
t13.	Rice	307	306	297	910 (+46)
t13.	Sam Houston State	302	303	305	910 (+46)
15.	Northern Illinois	304	305	302	911 (+47)
16.	Houston Baptist	301	310	305	916 (+52)

Dates: Feb. 19-21

Location: Humble, Texas

Course: Golf Club of Houston

Par: 72

Yards: 7,422

HUMBLE, Texas — Senior Matt NeSmith fired a bogey-free round of 67 (-5) on Sunday morning, leading the University of South Carolina Men’s Golf team to a third place finish at the 2016 All-American Intercollegiate. As a team, the Gamecocks shot a round of 291 (+3) on Sunday to finish with a three-day total of 868 (+4). NeSmith came in second individually, with a score of 210 (-6).

Arkansas posted a round of 279 (-9) on Sunday to take the team title with a cumulative score of 855 (-9). The Razorbacks clipped host Houston (-8, 856) by one stroke for the team title, and medalist honors went to Arkansas senior Taylor Moore for his three-day total of 207 (-9).

NeSmith’s 67 shared round of the day honors with South Carolina teammate Will Miles. Playing as an individual, the freshman’s five-under round vaulted him into a tie for seventh, with a score of 214 (-2). Starting the day on the 17th hole, Miles finished the round with six birdies, second-most among all individuals on Sunday. The 67 matches a career-best for the freshman, and the top-10 finish is the second of his young career.

NeSmith played error-free golf on Sunday, with five birdies and no bogeys. He closed the round strong, with a 32 on the back nine that included three birdies in his final six holes.

The 67 is NeSmith’s lowest round of the season so far, and the top-10 finish is his third of 2015-16. The North Augusta, S.C., native shot par or better in all three of his rounds at the Golf Club of Houston, and he bogeyed just one of his final 34 holes for the week.

Scott Stevens shot 74 (+2) on Sunday to finish the tournament tied for 21st, at 219 (+3). The freshman recorded three birdies in his final round

Senior Will Starke posted a score of 75 (+3) in the final round for a total of 221 (+5). The Chapin, S.C., native posted two birdies on Sunday and finished the tournament tied for 26th.

Sean Kelly finished the All-American Intercollegiate with a Sunday round of 78 (+6) to finish at 222 (+6). The senior was solid after making the turn, recording a par on his final eight holes to tie for 31st.

Sophomore Keenan Huskey finished tied for 46th to round out the Gamecocks in Houston. Huskey shot 75 (+3) on Sunday, a round that included four birdies. He three-day total was 225 (+9).

Quoting Coach Bill McDonald

“We were close to playing really well this week, but we just couldn’t get a whole lot going. Matt and Will played really good rounds today, but the team overall was a little off. We need to make a few adjustments before Palmetto, but I think we are really close to playing some great golf as a team.”

Round Changer

NeSmith improved by five strokes over his 2015 performance at the Golf Club of Houston, when he tied for 13th with a score of 215 (-1). The senior now owns 10 career top-five finishes and 20 career top-10’s.

Notable

Miles played the par-4 holes in -5 on Sunday, which ranked tops in the field.
As a team, Carolina finished on the podium for the third time this season. The Gamecocks also placed third at the Carpet Capital Collegiate (Sept. 11-13), and they won the Camden Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 24-25).
NeSmith’s final tally of 210 is his lowest 54-hole score of the season by six strokes.

Up Next for the Gamecocks

South Carolina returns to the Palmetto State for the Palmetto Intercollegiate, to be held March 7-8 in Aiken, S.C. Hosted by USC Aiken and Palmetto Golf Club, the tournament is the first of three events the Gamecocks will play in the month of March.