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April 26, 2018

SCORECARDS
Keenan Huskey
Round 1: 75
Round 2: 73
Round 3: —
To Par: +8
Place: T-55th
Scott Stevens
Round 1: 74
Round 2: 70
Round 3: —
To Par: +4
Place: T-31st
Will Miles
Round 1: 71
Round 2: 73
Round 3: —
To Par: +4
Place: T-31st
Ben Dietrich
Round 1: 70
Round 2: 72
Round 3: —
To Par: +2
Place: T-18th
Andrew Spiegler
Round 1: 73
Round 2: 72
Round 3: —
To Par: +5
Place: T-38th

Men’s Golf at 2018 SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – South Carolina sits 12th in the team race after the second round of the 2018 SEC Championship on Thursday. The Gamecocks are well within striking distance of the match play cutline, just four shots off the pace and 10 shots back of fourth. Junior Scott Stevens carded an even par 70 to lead the team in the second round.

The 2017 All-SEC and PING All-Southeast Region selection was steady from start to finish, carding 12 pars and a trio of birdies. Stevens sits T-31st heading into the final round on Friday.

Senior Ben Dietrich had another rock-solid day, as he got up-and-down the golf course leading the team with 14 pars en route to a 2-over 72. The Bluffton, S.C., native is T-18th at 2-over for the tournament. He’s in solid position for a great individual finish in his first appearance at SECs since his freshman year in 2014.

Freshman Andrew Spiegler shot 72 (+2) as his score counted in the lineup for the second consecutive day. The Abingdon, Va., native, made the turn at 3-over, but righted the ship on the back nine carding a 1-under 34 with a pair of birdies, one on the par-3 13th and one on the par-3 17th.

Senior All-American Keenan Huskey was the other counting score in the lineup on Thursday with a 3-over 73. He bounced back from a 3-over 38 on the front nine with an even pair 35 down the stretch. The Greenville, S.C., native hit the ball well, but simply couldn’t get the birdie putts to fall. Huskey is T-55th at 8-over for the tournament. Junior Will Miles also shot 73 (+3). Like Huskey, he bounced back from a tough front nine (3-over 38) and shot even par down the stretch. Miles is T-31st with Stevens at 4-over for the tournament.

No. 11 LSU carded the round of the day with a 4-under 276 to take control of the stroke play lead. No. 4 Vanderbilt shot 283 (+3) and dropped back to second place, two shots behind the Tigers. Freshman Cecil Wegner of Ole Miss snagged the individual lead after a field-best 65 (-5) in the second round. He leads by a shot over five players tied for second. It should be an exciting day tomorrow as 10 teams are within 10 shots of each other, battling it out for a spot in the top-eight and the SEC Match Play Quarterfinals on Saturday morning.

QUOTING COACH Bill McDonald

“Having a 72 (+2) from a freshman, Andrew Spiegler, was solid. I think Ben Dietrich gave us another solid round. Scott Stevens played well. Keenan is a little disappointed that he struggled again. Overall, we just didn’t take advantage of the golf course early on in the round when the wind was down. I think that was the most disappointing part of the day was that we struggled on the front nine. I thought the guys really hung in there and played some really good golf on the back nine. We’re in good shape going into tomorrow. Looking forward to it. It’s going to be a battle to make match play.”

ROUND CHANGER Scott Stevens

Stevens bounced back from a 4-over first round, with an even par 70 to lead the team in the second round on Thursday. Red numbers have been hard to come by so far at Sea Island’s Seaside Course, and Stevens managed three of those today which tied him for the team lead with Will Miles. A tough six on the par-5 15th hole was his only bogey on the back nine.

NOTABLE

  • Junior Scott Stevens fired his 22nd round of par or better, which leads the team during the 2017-18 season. He’ll be gunning for his first career top-20 at the SEC Championship on Friday in three career appearances.
  • Carolina struggled to take advantage of the course’s two par-5s again on Thursday, shooting 1-under as a team on the long holes with just three birdies. Some more red numbers at seven and 15 could key a move up the leaderboard on Friday for the Gamecocks.
  • Senior Ben Dietrich and freshman Andrew Spiegler are T-8th in the field with 26 pars through two rounds of tournament play.

UP NEXT

Carolina will be paired with No. 2 Texas A&M (T-9th, +13) and No. 16 Arkansas (11th, +14). The Aggies were one of just four teams to shoot under par on Thursday with their 3-under 277. All-SEC and PING All-Southeast Region selection Keenan Huskey will lead things off for the Gamecocks Friday morning at 9 a.m. on hole 10.