No. 24 Gamecocks Hawaii Bound for Fall Finale

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 24 South Carolina finishes the fall portion of its schedule for the third consecutive season at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Lahaina, Hawaii this weekend. First round action gets underway early tomorrow afternoon from the Valley Isle.
 
 “It’s always a highlight in our regular season to be able to make the trip and compete on the island of Maui,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “The golf course sets up well for us and we’re expecting pretty good winds each day which should make some holes a little tricky.  We have made some good adjustments since our last event, and I think the guys look to be more focused and prepared as a team.  It’s a known fact that I’m at my best as a coach in a tropical paradise setting.”

Live scoring for the event will be provided by Golfstat.  

Senior Scott Stevens, senior Will Miles and freshman Ryan Hall remain in the lineup for the Gamecocks. The trio has started all five tournaments this fall for Carolina. Senior Ryan Stachler remains in the lineup, making his second stroke play start. Sophomore Andrew Spiegler will be making his stroke play debut for the 2018-19 season this weekend.
 
All five golfers this week were a part of the six-man lineup at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational (Oct. 8-9), a first-year match play event earlier this fall.

Carolina finished second last season in its second all-time appearance at the event thanks to top-five finishes from Scott Stevens (runner-up medalist) and Will Miles (fourth place). Stevens shot 202 (-11) after posting three rounds in the 60s and Miles shot a career 54-hole best 204 (-9) thanks to a pair of 5-under 66s. The Gamecocks finished fifth out of 24 teams in their debut at the event in the fall of 2016. Stevens led Carolina with a T-6^th finish after shooting 203 (-10).
 
ABOUT THE COURSE
Built on 300 acres of land once home to Hawaiian royalty, Ka’anapali Golf Courses present golfers with pristine conditions and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and West Maui Mountains.
 
Opened in 1962 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., the par-71, 6,700-yard Royal Ka’anapali Course features wide fairways and undulating greens which make it both distinctive and demanding.  The tournament-tested layout hosted the Champions Tour Ka’anapali Classic for 14 years, Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, the Canada Cup and LPGA Kemper Open.

TOURNAMENT FIELD
Twenty-one teams from across the country are set to compete this week in Maui. No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 15 Clemson, No. 19 Georgia and No. 25 Cal join the Gamecocks in the field as the team’s ranked in the top-25 of the latest Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll.

Indiana, Kansas, Washington and West Virginia are the other Power Five programs represented this week.

MCDONALD’S 21
Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald is the winningest coach by tournament victories in school history with 21. 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 the team’s third-straight title at the 2017 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate last spring. His latest win came last fall at the 2017 Camden Collegiate Invitational as Carolina won the event for the third time in four seasons thanks to three individual top-10 finishes.
 
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks will return home for a two month-plus break before kicking off the spring season in February at the All-American Intercollegiate in Humble, Texas. Stay tuned to GamecocksOnline.com for a full release of Carolina’s 2018 spring schedule.