The Daily Gamecock

Gamecocks cap off fourth round in men's NCAA golf championship

PHOTOS BY (c) ALLEN SHARPE and JENNY DILWORTH 2015
PHOTOS BY (c) ALLEN SHARPE and JENNY DILWORTH 2015

The Gamecocks wrapped up the NCAA tournament on Monday with the fourth round of play. The Gamecocks fell back from their opening score as they added 12 more strokes than Monday's total (288) and ended the tournament with a final round 300 (+12). They also shot a 72-hole 1,187 (+35) and missed the top eight by 15 strokes.

Junior Will Starke finished the tournament strong, recording a two-under 70 to finish tied for 16th with a total of 289 (+1) in individual strokes. Starke came into the back nine at even par, where he then recorded three straight birdies and a bogey on hole 5. With a tie for 16th, Starke became just the sixth Gamecock to record a top-20 finish in the NCAA Tournament. He finished the season with a 70.27 scoring average, which is the lowest ever recorded in Gamecock history.

Head coach Bill McDonald praised Starke's play, especially after a shaky start.

"He had a tough first round, but in typical Will Starke fashion he came back strong and played some really solid golf the last three rounds,” McDonald said. "He got a top-20 finish out of this, which he certainly deserves. He played great."

Junior Sean Kelly brought home a 73 (+1) to finish in a tie for 49th with a 72-hole 298 (+10). Junior Matt NeSmith finished at +9 and, in their final season as Gamecocks, seniors Caleb Sturgeon and Will Murphy both shot a 79. SMU’s Dechambeau won the individual title with total of 280 (-8), a mere one stroke under Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan.

In terms of the NCAA tournament, South Carolina had one of its best showings of all time. The Gamecock golfers won a school-record five tournament titles, recorded a South Carolina record 10 top-five finishes and broke the school record for team scoring average in a season by a little more than four strokes (282.85).  McDonald discussed the result of the tournament.

"Making the cut to 15 after the way we started out the first two rounds was quite an accomplishment. We had a game plan in place today to play very aggressively early and try to make a run at the final eight. Unfortunately, it just didn't go our way on the first few holes,” McDonald said. “We got some pretty bad breaks honestly. I think the guys were running a little bit low on energy to begin with, and not getting off to a fast start sort of sucked the energy out of us. But still finishing 13th is a pretty good week considering how we started out."


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