Will Starke

Tweets by @starke_will

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