Will Starke
- class Freshman
- Hometown Chapin, S.C.
- High school Chapin
- class Freshman
- Hometown Chapin, S.C.
- High school Chapin
Will Starke Bio
Awards/Honors
- 2016 Byron Nelson Award Watch List Selection
- 2016 PING All-American Honorable Mention
- 2016 Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar
- 2015 PING All-American Second Team
- 2015 Golfweek All-American Second Team
- 2015 PING All-Southeast Region
- 2015 All-SEC First Team
- 2015 Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar
- 2015 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
- 2014 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
- 2013 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
2015-16 (Senior)
- Named to the Golfweek Preseason All-America Third Team
- Was on the initial 10-player watch list for the Byron Nelson Award
- Won his round of Mackenzie Tour Q-School in April to earn full status on the Canadian tour in 2016
- Finished T-13th at the NCAA Championship, guiding the Gamecocks to the match play portion of the event with a four-day score of 284 (+4)
- Was tied for the NCAA Championship individual lead after shooting 67 (-3) in the first round and closed with a round of 66 (-4)
- Finished No. 2 in school history for career scoring average behind classmate Matt NeSmith with a 72.17
- Played in 11 tournaments, with a stroke average of 73.18
- Claimed 20th place at the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional with a score of 218 (+2)
- Posted his best finish of the season at the Palmetto Intercollegiate, placing third as the Gamecocks won the event
- Shot a three-round score of 205 (-5) at the Palmetto, including a season-best 66 (-4) in the second round
- Tied for 15th as the Gamecocks won the team title at the General Hackler Championship with a score of 215 (-1)
- Posted another top-10 by finishing T-10th at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, another Carolina victory
- Totaled a three-round score of 215 (-1) at the Hootie, including a final-round 69 (-3)
- Competed in the Porsche European Open at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach in Bad Griesbach, Germany, in September and finished T-100th after shooting a 1-over 143 in two days
- Best finish in the fall was a T-34th at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in October with an 8-over 224
- Low round of the fall was a 71 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational and the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational
2014-15 (Junior)
- Second-team Golfweek and PING All-American selection
- First-team All-SEC and PING All-Southeast Region selection
- Led team with a stroke average of 70.27, which is the lowest for a single season in school history
- Finished 16th or better in 10 of 12 events, including one tournament win
- Matched the school record for top-five finishes in a season with six, tying Kyle Thompson’s total from the 1998-99 season
- Tied for fourth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate with a total of 209 (-7) to lead Gamecocks to the team title
- Finished runner-up at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup with a total of 206 (-7)
- Tied for fifth at both the Camden Collegiate Invitational and Bayou City Collegiate Championship to lead the Gamecocks to the title at both tournaments
- Captured medalist honors at the Palmetto Intercollegiate with a career-low total of 201 (-9)
- Named SEC Golfer of the Week (3/12) for winning the Palmetto Intercollegiate
- Finished third at the Seminole Intercollegiate with a total of 203 (-13) to repeat as SEC Golfer of the Week (3/18)
- Matched the school record for lowest round, firing a final-round 63 at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational
- Tied for 10th at the NCAA Bremerton Regional with a total of 212 (-4)
- Placed 16th at the NCAA Championship with a 72-hole total of 289 (+1)
- Shot under par in 26 of 37 rounds, including 19 rounds in the 60s
- Recorded a tie for sixth finish at the 109th Southern Amateur Championship in July
- Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar
- Member of the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
2013-14 (Sophomore)
- Had a breakout year, becoming one of the team’s top golfers
- Earned a spot in the lineup in all 12 tournaments
- Matched the team high with seven top-20 finishes
- Tied for the team lead with four top-five finishes, which are tied for the fifth most in a single season in school history
- Led the team with a stroke average of 72.20, which ranks eighth all-time for a single season at South Carolina and is the third lowest stroke average for a sophomore in school history
- Opened season with a tie for fifth finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate with a total of 214 (-2)
- Closed out the fall with a tie for fourth showing at the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic with a total of 216 (E)
- Tied for fifth at the Palmetto Intercollegiate with a total of 214 (+4)
- Won first career tournament, claiming first at the Seahawk Intercollegiate with a total of 137 (-7), the fifth lowest 36-hole tournament total in program history
- Named SEC Golfer of the Week for win at Seahawk Intercollegiate
- Followed up with a seventh-place finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate with a total of 212 (-4)
- Finished tied for 16th at the NCAA Eugene Regional with a total of 217 (+7)
- Tied for 55th at the NCAA Championship after holding the first-round lead
- Fired a 64 on two occasions — Seahawk Intercollegiate and NCAA Championship — to become the first Gamecock golfer of record to do so twice in the same season
- Member of the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll
2012-13 (Freshman)
- Came on strong in the spring to lock down a spot in the postseason lineup
- Played in six tournaments and recorded two top-10 finishes
- Ranked fifth on the team with a stroke average of 74.11
- Opened collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic with rounds of 70-73-69=212 (-1) to help lead the Gamecocks to the program’s first tournament win since 2009
- Played a key role in leading South Carolina to a runner-up finish at the SEC Championship, finishing tied for 63rd with rounds of 79-75-75=229 (+19)
- Tied for ninth at the NCAA Columbus Regional with a total of 217 (+4), including a 68 in the first round
- Tied for 116th at the NCAA Championship with rounds of 70-75-74=219 (+9)
- Named to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
Prior to South Carolina
- Had a stellar career at Chapin High School in Chapin, S.C.
- Highly ranked by the Junior Golf Scoreboard
- Qualified for the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur
- Finished second in the stroke play portion of the event with rounds of 68-71=139 (-5)
- Advanced to the quarterfinals of match play
- Claimed first at the 2011 Southern Cross and tied for fifth at the 2011 Big `I’ National Championship
- Member of the Carolinas Junior team in both 2010 and 2011
- Finished tied for first at the 2011 Carolinas Golf Association Junior and tied for second in 2010
- Placed third at the 2011 South Carolina Junior
- Received the 2011 David Parrott Memorial Award
- Member of the National Honor Society and the Beta Club
Personal
- Full name is William Andrew Starke
- Parents are Tom and Sue Starke
- Majoring in finance
Career Statistics | ||||||||||
Year | Events | Rounds | Low 54 | Low 18 | Par/Better | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Strokes | Average |
2012-13 | 6 | 18 | 212 | 68 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1,334 | 74.11 |
2013-14 | 12 | 35 | 211 | 64 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2,527 | 72.20 |
2014-15 | 12 | 37 | 201 | 63 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 2,600 | 70.27 |
2015-16 | 11 | 34 | 205 | 66 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2,488 | 73.18 |
Total | 41 | 124 | 201 | 63 | 64 | 12 | 16 | 24 | 8,949 | 72.17 |