Gamecocks prepare for inaugural Darius Rucker Intercollegiate
The South Carolina women’s golf team will start its spring break off in the southern tip of the Palmetto State this weekend, where it will serve as host of the inaugural Darius Rucker Intercollegiate tournament on Hilton Head Island.
The event is set to tee off at 8:30 a.m. on Friday at Long Cove Club.
While it may not count as a home-field advantage for the Gamecocks, as the course is roughly a three-hour drive from Columbia, head coach Kalen Harris, her staff and her players are all excited to enter their own tournament.
“Well, we’re really excited to be here,” Harris said to reporters. “Obviously, it’s the first event we’re hosting in quite some time. It’s an incredible venue. We’re really excited to be at Long Cove. It’s just a premier golf course and it has a lot of history here, so I know all of the teams that have shown up are excited to be here.”
The contest will serve as South Carolina’s third-to-last event of the regular season before taking part in the SEC Championships in late April.
Even though the tournament is just in its first year, the competition that will be present is one of the toughest lists seen on any schedule thus far. The Gamecocks will have to compete with the likes of No. 2 Alabama, No. 8 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Georgia, just to name a few SEC opponents in the tournament.
In all, there will be twelve squads teeing off in Hilton Head that are currently ranked in the top 50 in the nation, of which seven are ranked in the top 25. USC currently stands at No. 30.
“Obviously Long Cove was a big draw,” Harris said, “And we have Darius Rucker singing a few songs for us. He’s agreed to sponsor the event and he’s a huge draw, so we’re looking forward to him showing up. It’s going to be just a great event.”
With rain and scattered thunderstorms in the forecast all weekend, Harris knows the course will be tough to play.
“It’s quite difficult, but it’s good. It really depends on how the weather is,” she said. “A lot is dependent on that. You get some tough holes out there right on the water, and if you get that wind blowing at 20 to 30 miles an hour, this course completely changes, so a lot is dependent on the weather and the conditions. You get some tough driving holes, you’ve got to place the ball on the correct sides of the fairways, and then they can tuck in some pretty difficult pin positions. You’ve got to be on the right place on these greens. It’s just in perfect condition right now.”
One thing the Gamecocks have going for them is that they will be officially on spring break when they step into the tee box this weekend. With schoolwork temporarily not on their radar, the women will be able to attend a dinner and a concert in Hilton Head tonight, and they will continue to have the luxury of being able to fully relax in the downtime between rounds.