Upstate Set For ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 24, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's golf team travels to Kill Devil Hills, N.C., for the 36-hole ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate played at the Seascape Golf Resort Monday and Tuesday. The Spartans are making their third straight appearance in the tournament and look to continue their strong play after finishing fourth out of 15 teams a year ago. To do so, though, the Spartans will have to shake off some rust after not competing in tournament play for nearly a month. Upstate will likely ride the coattails of seniors Josh Gallman and Michael Lawrence in the tournament, both of whom turned in solid performances at the event last year. Both golfers tied for 29th. In order to get a strong team finish like last year, Upstate must receive contributions from the rest of the lineup. The tournament is the fourth of five in the fall for the Spartans.
The ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate is hosted by Old Dominion and will feature a 15-team field. Joining Upstate and Old Dominon in the tournament are Delaware, Drexel, Elon, George Mason, George Washington, Hartford, Longwood, Penn, Radford, St. Joseph's, Temple and Towson. The tournament will be 18 holes Monday and Tuesday on the 6,131-yard, par-70 layout. Upstate will send Josh Gallman, Michael Lawrence, McKenzie Oref, Brian Horton and Tyler Comer out on the links.
Looking Back At The Giustina Memorial Classic
Despite the strong play of senior Josh Gallman, Upstate was not able to put together a final round on par with the rest of the field and finished in a tie for eighth at the 10-team Giustina Memorial Classic hosted by Oregon State last month in Corvallis, Ore. For the third straight tournament, Upstate played itself into contention for a solid team showing only to falter as a team in the final round. Gallman, however, was solid throughout and finished tied for fourth in a field with teams from major conferences like the Pac-10, Mountain West and Western Athletic conferences. He turned in scores of 70, 68 and 72 to finish at 6-under-par for the tournament. Michael Lawrence finished tied for 31st, while Brian Horton was tied for 36th. McKenzie Oref finished 49th, while Tyler Comer was 50th.
Gallman Opens Season With Three Top 10 Finishes
Any accomplishment that senior Josh Gallman garners should be no surprise to anyone. However, the Gaffney, S.C., native has certainly put himself in contention to be one for the top college golfers in the country. He began the season by winning the Rutgers Invitational in trying weather conditions. He followed that performance by finishing tied for ninth at the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate. In his last outing, he finished tied for fourth at the Giustina Memorial Classic. Gallman padded his career numbers and now owns a school record five individual tournament championships, 15 top 5 finishes and 27 top 10 performances. He also holds the school record with a 2,537-411 head-to-head record and an .861 winning percentage.
Looking To Finish Tournaments
While Upstate has turned in solid starts to all three tournaments this season, a nasty little trend has emerged with the Spartans, as a team, failing to turn in final round scores to either maintain or move up the tournament leaderboard. Much of the inconsistency in the final round scores can be attributed to inexperience in positions 3-5. Head coach Todd Lawton feels that as the players gain experience, the scores should come down.
At the season-opening tournament at Rutgers, the Spartans were tied for the lead after the first round, but could not keep pace with Rutgers and took second place. At the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate in the next tournament, the Spartans stood seventh heading into the final round but carded a 300 to fall four spots into 11th. At the Giustina Memorial Classic, Upstate was sixth heading into the final round, but shot 308 to fall into a tie for eighth.
Gallman Nationally Ranked
With three top 10 finishes on the year, a solid summer of golf and a solid resume throughout his collegiate career, senior Josh Gallman finds himself among the nation's top college players and the country's and world's top-ranked amateurs. Gallman is currently ranked 61st in the Golfstat Cup rankings. He finished the 2007-08 season ranked 56th. He is ranked 74th in the United States in the latest amateur rankings by ScratchPlayersGolf.com and 178th in the world ranking. In the rankings by the R&A, Gallman is 120th in the world rankings and 61st in the United States.
Lineup By The Numbers
The lineup of Josh Gallman, Michael Lawrence, McKenzie Oref, Brian Horton and Tyler Comer are a collective 523-420 head-to-head in tournament play this season for a winning percentage of .555... the ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate is the second time this season the Spartans have gone with the lineup after debuting at the Giustina Memorial Classic... although just a freshman, McKenzie Oref has solidified his position at the No. 3 spot... he ranks third on the team with a 76.3 stroke average... Josh Gallman is the only Spartan to record a top 10 individual finish on the year.
