The South Carolina men’s golf team placed sixth in the Shoal Creek Invitational hosted by University of Alabama-Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama. The Gamecocks finished with a combined 54-hole total score of 876 (12-over). Senior Sean Kelly, led the way on the final day of tournament action, shooting two-under with a score of 70. Host UAB cruised to victory at their home course with an impressive 54-hole total of 851 (13-under).
The sixth-place finish was disappointing for the Gamecocks considering they held a second-place tie overall after day one of the tournament. Coach Bill McDonald expressed his frustration in a post-game interview.
“We played very poorly today, especially down the closing stretch of holes," McDonald said. "Hopefully, our guys will learn from this experience and use it to improve going forward. It's my responsibility to prepare our young guys better and I did a poor job in that department this week.”
Individually, senior Matt NeSmith paced the Gamecocks with an seventh-place finish overall, posting a 54-hole total of 216. With two top-10 finishes this season, NeSmith is just three shy of the South Carolina school record of 22.
Kelly finished right there with NeSmith, posting a 54-hole total of 218. The 12th-place finish marks the eighth career top-20 finish for Kelly.
Freshman Scott Stevens continued his promising early performance, posting his second top-20 finish in as many tournaments. He finished in 14th overall with a three-day total of 220.
Freshman Ryan Stachler earned a spot on the Gamecocks five-man lineup for the first time this weekend. Despite finishing just 53rd overall in his tournament debut, Stachler actually led the team with his 10 birdies over the course of the tournament, showing he has potential with more consistency.
While the sixth-place finish is frustrating after entering the final day of play of competition in contention for first, it is encouraging that the Gamecocks were in contention early. The Gamecocks have the next couple weekends off from competition. Their next tournament will take place Oct. 18 through 20 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Orlando, Florida.