No. 19 South Carolina Finishes Second in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. — No. 19 South Carolina came up just shy in the final round at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational, taking second after blowing away the rest of the field with a 273 (-15) on Sunday. No. 3 Wake Forest, the leader going into today, edged out the Gamecocks by three shots thanks to several birdies coming in on holes 17 and 18. Carolina finished with a 54-hole total of 831 (-33), its second lowest three-round score of the 2018-19 season.
 
The 15-team field got off to an hour late start this morning due to rain and fog at Forest Hills Golf Club.
 
Junior Jamie Wilson continued his standout play earning runner-up medalist honors after shooting 67 (-5) in the final round. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native, posted a new career-best score of 204 (-12). He finished second in the field with 15 birdies this week. Wilson, who took third while helping the Gamecocks comeback to win the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate two weeks ago, has three top-five finishes in 23 career events played. He was bogey free today shooting 34 (-2) on the front nine and 33 (-3) coming in with red numbers on his final two holes. He hit the flag off the tee at the par-3 16^th and just missed another birdie on the scorecard. Wilson nearly sunk an eagle putt on 18 as well after driving the green on the short par-4.
 
Fellow junior Caleb Proveaux also went low today, leading Carolina with a career-best 65 (-7) fueled by eight birdies. The Lexington, S.C., native, led the field in par-5 scoring average this week at 4.33 (-8). He climbed nearly 40 spots on the leaderboard to finish T-14^th at 4-under overall, his third top-20 (fifth career) in the last four outings. Proveaux’s lights out 65 was the lowest score in the 75-man field during the third round.
 
“The guys, particularly Jamie and Caleb, played some lights out golf today,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “Yesterday afternoon, the second round, was really strong as well. We lost this golf tournament in the morning round yesterday. We were a little bit loose, really all three rounds, particularly with some par-5 play. Got to give it up to Wake, they played really well and we just came up a little bit short.”
 
Senior Scott Stevens also finished T-14^th at 4-under alongside Proveaux after shooting 70 (-2) today. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native, made the turn at even par and shot 34 (-2) on the back nine. Stevens mishit his tee shot at the difficult par-3 16^th and double bogeyed the hole. He rallied with birdies on his final two holes to get into the clubhouse with a red number.
 
Senior Will Miles, the final counting score today, also shot under par with a final round 71 (-1) to finish T-24^th at 2-under overall for the tournament. Miles was bogey free down the stretch with a pair of birdies. He tied for the field lead this week with Wilson in par-3 scoring average (2.83, -3). Fellow senior Ryan Stachler shot a final round 72 (E) to finish T-16^th at 3-under. The Alpharetta, Ga., native heated up on the back nine after chipping in for eagle at the par-5 11^th. He was 3-under on the day through 15, but had a bogey on 16 and a double on 17 after hitting an errant tee shot. Stachler’s top-20 marks his fifth of the 2018-19 season (eighth career), but snaps a streak of three-straight top-10s dating back to a T-2^nd finish in the team’s record-setting performance at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate (March 11-12).
 
The Demon Deacons shot 281 (-7) today to hold on for their fourth win of the 2018-19 season. Cameron Young, the 22^nd ranked player in the latest Golfstat player rankings, ran away with the individual title shooting 197 (-19) while accounting for half his team’s final mark of 36-under (828). The Gamecocks came into today 11 shots off the pace in fourth place. Carolina surpassed No. 7 Texas, who finished third at 30-under (834), with its impressive final 18 holes today. The Gamecocks also picked up an SEC victory over Arkansas, improving the team’s record to 12-10 against league opponents during the 2018-19 season.
 
NOTABLE
> It’s last four outings dating back to the historic win at Palmetto Golf Club on March 12, South Carolina is 97-under par with two victories, a third-place finish in a loaded field at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on March 19 and now a runner-up finish on Sunday at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational.
> During the stretch, Carolina has recorded a team scoring average of 277.08 with 228 birdies and 12 eagles.
> The Gamecocks led the field this week with five eagles and finished third with 63 red numbers on the team’s scorecards.
> Carolina was second in par-4 scoring average, just behind Wake Forest at 3.93 (-10). Multiple Gamecocks finished in the top-5 in the field in par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring average this week.
> In eight appearances at the event now under McDonald since 2007, this marks the team’s highest finish and third top-five.
 
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks will finish the regular season at the Southern Intercollegiate on Monday, April 15. It’s a one-day event at Athens Country Club as teams will play 36 holes to determine a team and individual champion. Carolina then gears up for the 2019 SEC Championship (April 24-28), which will be held at Sea Island Golf Club (St. Simons Island, Ga.) for the 19^th time. Click here for more information.
 
FINAL TEAM SCOREBOARD – 2019 AUGUSTA HASKINS AWARD INVITATIONAL
1. No. 3 Wake Forest – 828 (-36)
2. No. 19 South Carolina – 831 (-33)
3. No. 7 Texas – 834 (-30)
4. No. 37 Arkansas – 845 (-19)
5. Notre Dame – 853 (-11)
6. Augusta – 855 (-9)
7. No. 23 Illinois – 858 (-6)
8. Mercer – 861 (-3)
9. UCF – 862 (-2)
10. Houston – 864 (E)
11. Virginia Tech – 868 (+5)
12. USC-Aiken – 871 (+7)
13. Northern Illinois – 875 (+11)
14. Georgia State – 897 (+33)
15. Air Force – 901 (+37)
 
FINAL GAMECOCK LEADERBOARD – 2019 AUGUSTA HASKINS AWARD INVITATIONAL
2. Jamie Wilson – 204 (-12)
T-14. Scott Stevens – 212 (-4)
T-14. Caleb Proveaux – 212 (-4)
T-16. Ryan Stachler – 213 (-3)
T-24. Will Miles – 214 (-2)
 
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