Gamecocks finish ninth in loaded field at OFCC/Fighting Illini Inv.

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — South Carolina men’s golf shot 297 (+17) in the final round of the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational to finish ninth in the team’s second event of the 2018-19 season. Senior Scott Stevens finished T-10th to lead the Gamecocks at Olympia Fields Country Club.
 
“We really struggled today, but a lot of teams did as well,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “The golf course just plain whipped our tails, and hopefully our guys can learn from their experience this week.  Scott (Stevens) and Ryan played well and both had really solid finishes against a tough field.  We’re looking forward to a couple weeks off to do some qualifying and work on our games before we head to Muirfield.”
 
Stevens shot even par (70) for the second consecutive day to finish the tournament at 1-over. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native had a bogey free 2-under round going through 15 holes. He bogeyed two of his final three holes to shoot 70. Stevens, who tallied his third-straight top-20 finish dating back to the 2018 NCAA Bryan Regional, now has 16 career top-10s. That’s T-6^th all-time in program history with All-Americans Keenan Huskey, Will Starke and Eric Ecker. He finished T-4^th in the field in par-4 scoring average this weekend (E, 4.00).
 
Freshman Ryan Hall tallied his first career top-20 showing with a T-16^th finish (+4). The Knoxville, Tenn., native shot 73 (+3) on Sunday. He bounced back from a 3-over (38) front nine and shot even par (35) coming in with a pair of birdies. Hall was one of just 11 players in the 75-mand field to post a scoring average below par on the par-3s (-1, 2.92).
 
Senior Will Miles (T-31^st, +9) and freshman Teddy Teak (T-49^th, +14) each shot 77 (+7). Junior Jamie Wilson (T-66^th, +20) shot 79 (+9).
 
No. 1 Oklahoma State went wire-to-wire for the win, shooting under par as a team every round. The Cowboys set a new 54-hole team score tournament record by eight shots, finishing at 11-under (829). Oklahoma State’s Matthew Wolf (204, -6) shot 70 (E) on Sunday to win the individual title by a shot over Cal’s Collin Morikawa (205, -5). Ten of the 14 teams in the field this weekend in Chicago are ranked in the Preseason Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll. 
 
The Gamecocks will have the rest of September off before teeing it up again at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational (Oct. 8-9) at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.  
 
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS – 2018 OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL
1. Oklahoma State – 829 (-11)
2. Southern Cal – 847 (+7)
3. Cal – 856 (+16)
4. Alabama – 858 (+18)
5. UNLV – 860 (+20)
6. Illinois – 862 (+22)
7. Texas A&M – 865 (+25)
8. Stanford – 867 (+27)
9. South Carolina – 868 (+28)
10. Florida State – 876 (+36)
11. Indiana – 880 (+40)
12. Purdue – 886 (+46)
13. Baylor – 887 (+47)
14. Air Force – 922 (+82)