Upstate Set To End Fall Season At Hatter Invitational
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 1, 2009
Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's golf team looks to carry the momentum from a solid sixth-place finish at last week's ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate into the Holiday Inn Express Hatter Invitational in DeLand, Fla., Monday and Tuesday. The 54-hole event is hosted by Stetson. For the first time this season, Upstate will battle a field with several A-Sun teams, giving the Spartans a glimpse of where they stand among other conference schools. Upstate makes its third straight appearance in the tournament and looks to continue its solid play in the event. Josh Gallman will lead the pack carrying four top 10 finishes in four tournaments this fall.
Upstate and host Stetson are joined in the tournament by A-Sun foes Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville and Lipscomb. The five A-Sun schools will join Bethune-Cookman, Florida Atlantic, Murray State and Rollins in the nine-team event. Upstate will send Gallman, Michael Lawrence, Tyler Comer, Brian Horton and Matthew Hopper into action this week. The tournament will be played on the 6,854-yard, par-72 Victoria Hills Golf Club less than 10 minutes from the Stetson campus in Central Florida.
Looking Back At The ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate
For the first time this season, Upstate lowered its score in the final round of a tournament to move up two spots from a tie for eighth to finish sixth in the ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate last week in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Josh Gallman claimed his fourth straight top 10 finish, and his third top five effort, of the season after rounds of 75 and 69. Michael Lawrence was solid with rounds of 75 and 73 to finish tied for 15th. Upstate opened the tournament with a 310 in horrible weather conditions on the coast of North Carolina. As the weather improved in the final round, the scores dropped. Gallman and Lawrence led the way, but no one had a better turnaround from the first round to the last than Brian Horton. Horton opened the tournament with an 86, but turned in a 70 in the final round to lead Upstate to a 285 on the second day. The performance helped move the Spartans up the leaderboard into sixth.
Spartans Look For Three In A Row At Hatter Invitational
When Upstate tees off Monday morning at the Holiday Inn Express Hatter Invitational, it will look to defend its two-time individual championship in the event. Josh Gallman shot 4-under-par in the tournament and claimed his second individual championship of the fall in 2007 en route to winning four individual crowns and earning first team all-conference honors. Last year, Michael Lawrence was the only player to shoot under par in the tournament, finishing 1-under to win the individual title. It was his second career individual championship. Upstate will hope to improve on its team standing in the tournament, having finished fourth in 2007 and third last year.
Lawrence Steady As He Goes
Michael Lawrence has played the role of man behind the man throughout his career. When he first entered the lineup as a freshman, he was solid, but played in the shadow of Baxter Culler. For the better part of three years now, he has been the steady player in the shadow of Josh Gallman. But, head coach Todd Lawton will tell you that Lawrence is every bit as important to the Spartans as any player on the team. He claimed his first top 15 finish of the year last week at the ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate and comes to the Holiday Inn Express Hatter Invitational as the reigning individual champion in the event.
Now That's A Turnaround
Head coaches often hope to see players work on their games and lower their scores. That was the case and then some with Brian Horton at the ODU/Seascape Intercollegiate. Horton opened the tournament with an 86 in tough playing conditions. Head coach Todd Lawton knew that Horton had the game to be a key contributor on the Upstate team. Horton proved that in the final round. He carded a 70 to finish as the second-lowest Spartan on the day to help push Upstate up two spots on the leaderboard. The 70 was his lowest of the season and helped lower his season average to 77.3.
Gallman 52nd In Golfstat Cup Ranking
Golfstat.com, the nation's premiere college statistical Web site and the supplier of in-tournament stat programs throughout college golf, ranks all college golfers in its Golfstat Cup ranking. Following a top five finish at the ODU/Seacape Intercollegiate, Upstate's Josh Gallman moved up nine spots and is now ranked 52nd in the Golfstat Cup ranking. Gallman finished the 2007-08 season 56th, making the No. 52 ranking his highest ever. He ranks seventh among all NCAA Division I college golfers in par-4 scoring, averaging 3.93. He is currently ranked 118th in the world by the R&A World Ranking, while coming in at No. 57 in the United States. He is ranked 188th in the world and 76th in the United States by ScratchPlayers.com. He is ranked 189th in the latest GolfWeek/amateurgolf.com world ranking and 81st in the United States.
