Gamecocks look to build off first-place finish to end fall campaign
The South Carolina golf team will begin its spring schedule on Feb. 11 in Savannah, Ga. at the Savannah Quarters Intercollegiate. The Gamecocks took home a first-place finish from the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic on Oct. 30 to end their fall season with their first tournament title since 2009. USC led the entire tournament and pulled away for a 20-stroke victory.
Senior Dykes Harbin played in all twelve tournaments during the fall season.
“I kept playing good all year and coach decided it was a good idea to keep me in,” Harbin said. “It was a lot of fun, and I gained a lot of good experience.”
Harbin said his success came from significant practice time.
“It takes a lot of time and effort, and you can’t let up. Ever,” Harbin said.
The senior claimed his first career victory at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, and t he coaching staff says Harbin is one of the most consistent golfers for the Gamecocks.
“He’s played very well for us,” head coach Bill McDonald said. “In fact he’s one of the best players for us for the last year and a half or so. He’s always performed really well. He’s a leader on the course and in the weight room.”
The Augusta, Ga., native started playing golf at the age of six, when his father taught him in their own back yard. Harbin said he enjoyed it “because it’s a challenge, and you constantly try to do better.”
McDonald said even with the success Harbin has had, there is always room for improvement.
“His putting is inconsistent,” McDonald said. “However, he’s always been a good ball striker, with a good short game.”
Harbin said he and his team are taking the steps necessary to be prepared for the start of the spring season.
“The whole team is practicing real hard,” Harbin said. “There are lots of goals we want to accomplish this season — a lot of goals I want to accomplish.”
Harbin said one of those goals is being named an All-American, and in order to accomplish that, the senior strives to continue to improve and become more consistent.
An experience at the Jones Cup Invitational on Feb. 3 ended in a way Harbin said he didn’t like.
“I was playing really well up until the end,” Harbin said. “In the final round I had a few bad shots and it just went on, but those are the things I can learn from. In an ideal match, everything goes according to plan, resulting in a win, but I couldn’t care less about winning by myself. We’re a team, and we win as a team.”
McDonald said even though the team plays in the SEC, one of the best conferences in the nation, the team looks forward to reach their goal of victories in the NCAA and the SEC tournaments.
After the Savannah Quarters Intercollegiate, the Gamecocks will travel to the Bayou City Collegiate Championships in Houston, Texas on Feb. 22 to 24.