No. 15 Gamecocks T-18th at NCAA Championship After 36 Holes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — No. 15 South Carolina shot 299 (+11) in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday at Blessings Golf Club. The Gamecocks are 28-over after 36 holes and T-18th heading into the third round of stroke play.

“We played a little better today I thought and the guys are getting more comfortable with the course,” said head coach Bill McDonald. “We need a good round tomorrow, but we’re in position to get it done. I’m confident we’ll come out focused and ready to go.”
 
Freshman Ryan Hall paced Carolina with a 2-over 74. The Knoxville, Tenn., native played great but had one bad hole with an eight at the difficult par-4 ninth hole. He hit his tee shot into the hazard and punched out to an unplayable lie. Hall battled back and shot 1-under on the back with three birdies.
 
Seniors Scott Stevens and Will Miles each shot 75 (+3). Stevens made the turn at 3-over (39) and shot even par coming in. He made par on holes 10-14 and chipped in for eagle at the par-5 15^th to get his round back to 1-over. Stevens made bogey on 16 and 17 and just missed a birdie putt on 18. Miles made the turn at 2-under with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole and a birdie on hole nine. He struggled coming in with a 41 (+5) on the back nine and was hurt by a triple bogey at the tough par-4 14^th hole.
 
Junior Caleb Proveaux bounced back from round one with a 75 (+3). The Lexington, S.C., native, made the turn at 4-over (40) and shot 1-under coming in. He was bogey free on the back with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 before a bogey on 18.
 
Senior Ryan Stachler carded a 79 (+7) after bogeys on 16 and 17 and a triple on 18.
 
Top-ranked Oklahoma State has a commanding lead after shooting a field best 276 (-12) today. The Cowboys are 10-under as a team through 36 holes. Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State) has the individual lead at 6-under by a shot over teammate Matthew Wolf (Oklahoma State) and Collin Morikawa (Cal).
 
The Gamecocks are just three shots out of 15^th heading into the third round of stroke play. The top-15 teams after tomorrow advance to the final round of stroke play on Monday. The top-nine individuals on non-advancing teams also advance. Carolina will be paired with TCU and North Florida for round three. Proveaux will lead things off on hole 10 at 1:22 p.m. ET.
 
R2 TEAM LEADERBOAD 2019 NCAA MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Oklahoma State – 566 (-10)
2. Stanford – 578 (+2)
3. Texas A&M – 583 (+7)
4. Auburn – 586 (+10)
5. Texas – 588 (+12)
6. Oklahoma – 592 (+16)
T-7. Wake Forest – 593 (+17)
T-7. Ohio State – 593 (+17)
T-7. Cal – 593 (+17)
10. Clemson – 594 (+18)
11. Vanderbilt – 595 (+19)
12. Arizona State – 598 (+22)
T-13. Georgia Tech  – 600 (+24)
T-13. Georgia – 600 (+24)
15. SMU – 601 (+25)
16. UNLV – 602 (+26)
17. Pepperdine – 603 (+27)
T-18. North Carolina – 604 (+28)
T-18. South Carolina – 604 (+28)
T-20. North Florida – 606 (+30)
T-20. TCU – 606 (+30)
22. Georgia Southern – 607 (+31)
T-23. Liberty – 608 (+32)
T-23. Southern Cal – 608 (+32)
25. Baylor – 609 (+32)
26. LSU – 610 (+32)
27. Illinois – 612 (+36)
28. Louisville – 615 (+39)
29. Duke – 618 (+42)
30. BYU – 629 (+53)
 
R2 GAMECOCK LEADERBOARD 2019 NCAA MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
T-48. Will Miles – 74 (+2)
T-48. Ryan Hall – 75 (+3
T-59. Scott Stevens – 75 (+3)
T-138. Ryan Stachler – 81 (+9)
T-152. Caleb Proveaux – 91 (+19)
 
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