Carolina Women Third, Men T5th Heading into Final Round in Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — South Carolina finished second round play at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday evening. The Gamecock women are third at 16-over after shooting 287 (-1), which tied for the best score of the day and was one of just two women’s team scores under par. The men are T-5^th at 10-over with Vanderbilt after posting a solid round of 290 (+2).
 
South Carolina is in third (+26) on the overall combined leaderboard, trailing only Arkansas (+11) and LSU (+25). The Gamecock men and women combined to shoot the best team score (577, +1) in the field in the second round.
 
The women roared back with some strong individual performances in round two, thanks to the tandem of sophomore Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and graduate transfer Pimnipa Panthong, both shooting 2-under rounds of 70. Panthong got going with an eagle at hole five, and notched birdies on four more holes to bounce back from a tough opening round on Monday. Roussin-Bouchard locked in early, making birdie the first three holes, adding two more along the way throughout her round. Both players sit at 4-over for the tournament (T-11^th) to lead he Gamecocks.
 
Sophomore Mathilde Claisse sank four birdies on her way to an even par score 72, while Lois Kaye Go birdied three of her final four holes to finish the day at 3-over. Freshman Paula Kirner also finished the day with four birdies as she shot 77 (+5).
 
“The team’s performance was very good today – they were a lot more patient,” women’s head coach Kalen Anderson said. “They got the hang of the speed on the greens. We made more birdies today, I think learning the golf course really helped a lot. The team got used to the pace of play better today and handled it well. We stumbled a bit on the 18^th, but we had three great birdies on 17 and got ourselves back into this tournament – very proud of their resilience. Great rounds from Pauline and Pim today, Lois Kaye came back nicely and Mathilde was solid and we’re looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
 
The men were led yet again by super senior Caleb Proveaux, who fired his second-straight round of 70 (-2). He’s in solo third at 4-under overall. The local product from Lexington, S.C., had an up-and-down front nine making the turn at 37 (+1). He played lets out on the back nine and carded a bogey free 33 (-3). Proveaux is six shots back of Kentucky’s Alex Goff heading into the final round. Goff took control of the tournament today on the men’s side with a 65 (-7).
 
Junior Ryan Hall also had a fine day carding a 2-under 70 like Proveaux. He’s T-11^th at 1-under overall. The Knoxville, Tenn., native, shot 35 (-1) on both sides. Hall was bogey free on the back nine with a birdie on his final hole, the difficult par-4 ninth.
 
“Our guys keep hanging in there and today was pretty fun to watch,” said men’s head coach Bill McDonald. “Caleb and Ryan played really well and our team overall really fought their tails off the entire round. If we can get all five guys on the same page for the final round tomorrow it could get interesting.”
 
Senior Jack Parrott shot 74 (+2) and super senior All-American Jamie Wilson shot 76 (+4) to round out the counting scores. Sophomore Jack Wall carded a 78 (+6).
 
Proveaux and Roussin-Bouchard are T-2^nd on the combined men’s and women’s best ball leaderboard at 16-under trailing only by one shot.

The men will tee off first at 9:27 a.m. ET in the final round on Wednesday. The women will go off at 10:37 a.m. ET on hole one. TV coverage on the Golf Channel begins at 3:30 p.m. ET again tomorrow. 
 
2020 Blessings Collegiate Invitational Women’s Leaderboard
1. Arkansas – 576 (E)
2. LSU – 586 (+10)
3. South Carolina – 592 (+16)
4. Ole Miss – 597 (+21)
5. Georgia – 598 (+22)
6. Florida – 599 (+23)
7. Auburn – 600 (+24)
8. Kentucky – 606 (+30)
9. Tennessee – 610 (+34)
10. Vanderbilt – 612 (+36)
11. Alabama – 616 (+40)
12. Texas A&M – 619 (+43)
13. Mississippi State – 625 (+49)
14. Missouri – 647 (+71)
 
Gamecock Women’s Leaderboard
T11. Pimnipa Panthong – 148 (+4)
T11. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard – 148 (+4)
T14. Mathilde Claisse – 149 (+5)
T14. Lois Kaye Go – 149 (+5)
T30. Paula Kirner – 153 (+9)
 
2020 Blessings Collegiate Invitational Men’s Leaderboard
1. Alabama – 573 (-3)
2. Tennessee – 575 (-1)
3. Kentucky – 577 (+1)
4. Texas A&M – 584 (+8)
T5. South Carolina – 586 (+10)
T5. Vanderbilt – 586 (+10)
7. Arkansas – 587 (+11)
8. Auburn – 588 (+12)
9. Mississippi State – 589 (+13)
10. LSU – 591 (+15)
11. Florida – 593 (+17)
12. Georgia – 601 (+25)
13. Missouri – 603 (+27)
14. Ole Miss – 619 (+43)
 
Gamecock Men’s Leaderboard
3. Caleb Proveaux – 140 (-4)
T11. Ryan Hall – 143 (-1)  
T45. Jack Parrott – 152 (+8)
T49. Jack Wall – 153 (+9)
T54. Jamie Wilson – 154 (+10)
 
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