May 15, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Men’s Golf team is the No. 3 seed at the 2016 NCAA Division I Tuscaloosa Regional, which runs May 16-18 at Ol’ Colony Golf Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Gamecocks are one of 13 teams at the Tuscaloosa Regional, which is hosted by the University of Alabama.

The Gamecocks will play 18 holes each day, with Monday’s round scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. CT. South Carolina will be paired with top seed Georgia and No. 2 seed Auburn in their first round, with pairings and tee times on Tuesday and Wednesday to be determined by the leaderboard at the end of each day.

The top five teams and the low individual not on those teams from the Tuscaloosa Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship, to be played May 27 through June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

BREAKING DOWN THE 2016 NCAA TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL

Four of the top-20 teams in Golfstat’s latest national rankings headline the Tuscaloosa Regional, and all four hail from the SEC: No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Auburn, No. 17 South Carolina and No. 19 Alabama. A fifth SEC participant, Kentucky, will join the event as the sixth seed, and the Gamecocks will be joined by two fellow Palmetto State teams: eighth-seed College of Charleston and 10th-seed Charleston Southern.

Ol’ Colony Golf Complex is an 18-hole championship golf course found in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that expands over 597 acres. The Jerry Pate designed golf course opened back in 2000. The course consists of over 70 bunkers with rolling hills and is heavily wooded with tall pines and soaring oaks. In 2008, Ol’ Colony was named one of the Top 100 “Best Places You Can Play” by Golf Digest, and it was recently named a “Top 10 Alabama Course.” It serves as the Tuscaloosa Chapter for The First Tee Program.

LAST SEASON AT THE NCAA BREMERTON REGIONAL

South Carolina was the top seed in the 2015 Bremerton Regional, and finished second to advance out of Washington and into the NCAA Championship for the third straight season. The Gamecocks posted a three-day total of 845 (-19), two shots behind UAB but most importantly 17 shots clear of the sixth-place finisher.

Then-juniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke each finished in the top-10 last season in Bremerton. NeSmith’s total of 210 (-6) was good for T-7th, while Starke tied for 10th at 212 (-4). Sean Kelly also turned in a strong effort at the Bremerton Regional, placing T-20th individually with a total score of 214 (-2).

SOUTH CAROLINA’S NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY

This is South Carolina’s 24th appearance at an NCAA Regional and their 20th Regional berth in the last 21 seasons. The Gamecocks have played in the NCAA Championship 19 times, including advancing out of Regionals 15 times in their past 23 appearances.

The Gamecocks have qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of the last three seasons and four times total under head coach Bill McDonald. South Carolina made it to the Championship stage by finishing tied for second in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio, fifth in 2014 in Eugene, Ore., and second last season as the top seed in Bremerton, Wash.

South Carolina has advanced out of Regionals four times under head coach Bill McDonald, including the last three seasons. McDonald also led Carolina to a T-2nd finish in 2009 at the Southeast Regional in Sorrento, Fla.

The Gamecocks have won their Regional once, taking the West Regional title in 2007 at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The Gamecocks finished the three-day event with a course-record score of 820 (-44), two shots ahead of UCLA. George Bryan IV led the Gamecock at the tournament, tying for 10th individually at 204 (-12).

Kyle Thompson is the lone Gamecock to win medalist honors at an NCAA Regional, accomplishing the feat twice. Thompson was the top finisher at the 1999 East Regional in Barrington, R.I., and the 2001 West Regional in Corvallis, Ore.

NESMITH NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC SELECTION

Senior Matt NeSmith was honored as a First Team All-SEC selection on May 4. He is the sixth Gamecock to earn three All-SEC awards, joining George Bryan IV (2008-10), Eric Ecker (1998-2000), Eirik Johansen (2003-04, 06), David Seawell (1994-96) and Kyle Thompson (1998-2001). His 71.27 stroke average paces the Gamecocks and ranks 10th in the SEC.

GRAMLEY HONORED AS MEMBER OF SEC COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM

Senior Brendan Gramley was selected to the SEC’s Community Service Team. Gramley volunteered over 65 hours of his time during the 2015-16 athletic season, including his service as an assistant boys basketball coach at Kennedy Catholic Middle School in Hermitage, Pa.

RECAPPING THE 2016 SEC CHAMPIONSHIP (APRIL 15-17)

South Carolina finished 10th at the 2016 SEC Championship in St. Simons Island, Ga., with a score of 879 (+39). The Gamecocks finished 26 strokes behind tournament champion Georgia.

The highlight of the week for the Gamecocks came from veteran Sean Kelly. The senior finished tied for 10th, his best career finish at the SEC Championship, by posting a three-day score of 215 (+5). Kelly’s Saturday 68 (-2) was the top round of the tournament for the Gamecocks.

Senior Matt NeSmith rallied to shoot Carolina’s best round on Sunday, a 72 (+2) to finish tied for 13th overall. The 2015 SEC Championship medalist ended the tournament with a three-day score of 217 (+7).

Two Gamecocks made their postseason debut at the 2016 SEC Championship. Sophomore Keenan Huskey tied for 38th, at 223 (+13), while freshman Scott Stevens tied for 49th at 224 (+14). Senior Will Starke finished T-66th at Sea Island Golf Club, with a total of 229 (+19).

NESMITH GRABS SPOT ON JACK NICKLAUS AWARD SEMIFINALIST LIST

On May 28, senior Matt NeSmith was named a semifinalist for the 2016 Jack Nicklaus Award. NeSmith is one of 30 student-athletes in contention for the national player of the year honor. Finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award will be named May 25. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced Thursday, June 2 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament.

KELLY PICKED AS SOUTH CAROLINA’S MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Senior Sean Kelly was named the University of South Carolina Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the season-ending Gamecock Gala on April 25. Now a graduate of South Carolina, Kelly earned his B.S. in finance with a GPA of 3.76. He is also a nominee for the CoSIDA Academic All-America award and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

Kelly was not the only member of the men’s golf program to leave the Gamecock Gala with hardware. Senior Matt NeSmith was honored as co-Male Athlete of the Year along with Akaram Mahmoud of the swimming & diving program. NeSmith is a two-time medalist this season and has been selected as a candidate for multiple national player of the year awards.

HUSKEY NAMED SEC GOLFER OF THE WEEK AFTER HISTORIC WIN

Sophomore Keenan Huskey was named Southeastern Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week on April 6 on the heels of his six-stroke win at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. It was Huskey’s first career SEC weekly honor and the third this year for the Gamecocks after Matt NeSmith was chosen on March 9 and March 16.

Huskey’s Hootie victory was his second of 2015-16, which makes him one of just eight Gamecocks to win twice in one season. He joins a group that includes Allen Powers (1966-67), Steve Liebler (1979-80), Carl Paulson (1992-93), Kyle Thompson (1998-99 and 2000-01), George Bryan IV (2009-10), Paul Woodbury (2009-10) and NeSmith (2014-15 and 2015-16).

CHASING RECORDS

Seniors Matt NeSmith and Will Starke entered the season with several career school records within reach. The duo sits in spots one and two for career scoring average with NeSmith in the top spot at 71.67 and Starke in second at 72.20. NeSmith won his fourth career individual tournament at the General Hackler Championship, which moves him into a tie for second in the Gamecock record books behind Kyle Thompson, and he now holds the school’s all-time record with 24 career top-10 finishes.

MCDONALD’S 18

Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald is the winningest coach by tournament victories in school history with 18. McDonald broke the previous record of nine held by Puggy Blackmon (1995-2007) with Carolina’s win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in September 2014. McDonald captured a school-record five wins in 2014-15 and snagged his latest victory at the 2016 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.

NESMITH SELECTED TO BEN HOGAN AWARD WATCH LIST

Matt NeSmith was named to the 2016 Ben Hogan Award Watch List on Feb. 10 and made the cut to 10 semifinalists on April 13. He is the first Gamecock in program history to make the Ben Hogan Award list. The Ben Hogan Award is issued annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer.

STARKE SELECTED TO BYRON NELSON AWARD NOMINEE LIST

Senior Will Starke was named to the nominee list for the 2016 Byron Nelson Award on March 9. Starke was one of 10 players eligible for the award, given annually to a graduating senior who excels not only on the golf course but also in the classroom and community. Starke earned All-America honors from PING and Golfweek in 2015 in addition to garnering All-America Scholar laurels from Cleveland Golf/Srixon. He’s a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and a two-time individual tournament medalist.

NESMITH WINS CONSECUTIVE SEC MEN’S GOLFER OF THE WEEK AWARDS

Senior Matt NeSmith was named Southeastern Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week on March 9 and again on March 16. He’s now won the award three times as a Gamecock.

NeSmith won the SEC’s top weekly honor after capturing medalist honors at the Palmetto Intercollegiate, held March 7-8 in Aiken, S.C., and then again after finishing as the co-medalist at the General Hackler Championship, which ran March 12-13 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He has won four career medalist honors.

EXPERIENCE RETURNS

Carolina returns seven golfers from last year’s squad, including seniors Matt NeSmith, Will Starke and Sean Kelly. The senior trio has played in a combined 119 tournaments for the Gamecocks during their careers and has recorded 45 top-10 finishes. Starke (second-team PING and Golfweek) and NeSmith (third-team PING and Golfweek) were named All-Americans last season and both earned first-team PING All-Southeast Region and All-SEC honors. They collected spots on the Golfweek Preseason All-America teams this fall with NeSmith landing on the first team. NeSmith was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus Awards, and Starke was on the initial Byron Nelson Award nominee list.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTOR

Newcomer Scott Stevens has quickly established himself as a potential fixture in the Gamecocks’ lineup throughout the season having now appeared in South Carolina’s top five for each tournament. He finished in a tie for 14th place in his first tournament, the Carpet Capital Collegiate, and followed with a tie for 20th at the Shoal Creek Invitational. At the Camden Collegiate Invitational, he took home a tie for 10th to mark his first career top-10 finish, and he fired Carolina’s best first round score, a 70, at the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational. In the spring, Stevens found a new groove, finishing in the top-10 in four straight tournaments beginning with the Palmetto Intercollegiate. Stevens now has five top-10 results this season. His score has counted in 29 of 33 rounds that he has played as a member of the lineup.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The top five finishers in Tuscaloosa, along with the top individual not on the advancing teams, will qualify for the NCAA Championship, to be played May 27 through June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.