University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Springhill Suites Intercollegiate
Spartans Seventh At Springhill Suites Intercollegiate
9/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 14, 2009
Florence, S.C. - USC Upstate turned in a strong 4-under-par total in the second round and was virtually unstoppable on holes 10-13 as the Spartans stand seventh out of 16 teams in the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion at the Country Club of South Carolina Monday afternoon.
Upstate enters Tuesday's final round in seventh place with a 36-hole total of 573 after rounds of 1-over-par 289 and 4-under 284. The Spartans trail tournament leader USC Aiken by 13 strokes. The Pacers own a 560 total and will enter the final round four shots ahead of Western Carolina (564) in second. Georgia Southern is third with a 565 total and is followed by Furman (569), Charleston Southern (570), James Madison (571), Upstate (573), Georgia College & State University (574), Elon (576), College of Charleston (578), Francis Marion (578), Appalachian State (581), Davidson (582), Radford (582), Presbyterian (582) and Samford (587).
The Monday, 36-hole format was unique with all five players on the team playing together. It marked the first time Upstate has played in the format and midway through the first round, began to feed off of each other as the Spartans began to put together solid scores.
"This was our first experience playing in a format where all five of our players played together," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "In the beginning of the day, we were excited about the opportunity to feed off one another and encourage each other. But there was also added extra pressure to play well in front of your other teammates. Overall, I feel like it turned out well and the guys are closer than they have ever been."
Josh Gallman, from Gaffney, S.C., led the Spartans on the day. He finished the day at 6-under-par 136 and is tied for fourth just two shots back of the tournament lead held by Appalachian State's Casey Johnson. Gallman opened the tournament with a 4-under 68 in the first round and answered with a 2-under 70 in the second.
While Gallman led Upstate, he was not alone in pacing the Spartans on the day. Michael Lawrence, from Easley, S.C., started slow, but used a four-hole combination of birdie, eagle, birdie and birdie in the first round to move from 5-over-par to even before settling for a 3-over 75. He came back strong in the second round and turned in a team-best 69.
"Michael began the day with a double bogey on his first hole and really struggled to get a rhythm through the first nine holes," said Lawton. "As he has done so many times, he recovered with a stretch of birdies and eagles to really help us turn the round around. It lit a fire on the team and allowed everyone to relax and start playing. We carried that through the second round."
McKenzie Oref, playing in his second collegiate tournament, matched Gallman in the second round with a 2-under-par 70. Oref, from Easley, S.C., was simply solid in the second round, highlighted by a stretch of holes when he birdied four, six, seven, nine and 11.
"It was exciting to see Josh continue to play rounds under par," said Lawton. "In addition, it was nice to see Michael and McKenzie play so well and all five players contribute scores today. The course played fairly and we seemed to manage a lot of putts that we needed to make and also several of the comeback putts that we rolled by six to eight feet."
Upstate had a tremendous day on the par-5's and on holes 10-13. The Spartans lead the tournament in par-5 scoring at 13-under-par. On holes 10-13, Upstate was 11-under with Lawrence finishing the four-hole stretch at 7-under in the two rounds.
Upstate battled through early nerves in the first round to post a 289 after rallying midway through the first 18. Gallman was solid and reached 3-under-par through his first 12 holes. His play, and that of Oref and Tyler Comer, kept the Spartans close to even-par for the round.
Oref grinded out an even-par 72 to open the tournament. He finished as the second-lowest Spartan in the first round. Comer, also playing in his second collegiate tournament, hovered around even-par for most of the round before finishing with a 2-over-par 74.
The opening round, though, belonged to Gallman. The senior who claimed the individual championship at the Rutgers Invitational Saturday, was simply outstanding. He rarely got into any trouble, hitting solid shot after solid shot and giving himself makeable birdie putts. He finished the round with a 4-under 68 to pace the Spartans. He also had three other birdie putts just lip out.
In the second round, Upstate was solid early on and stood at even-par through eight holes before coming to the par-5 sixth hole. The round turned around for the Spartans with all five players recording birdie on the hole to move to 4-under-par for the round. The Spartans would go as low as 6-under before settling for the 4-under 284.
Lawrence led the Spartans in the second round with a 3-under 69. Gallman and Oref turned in a pair of 70's, while Bryan Otis added a solid 75. Comer added a 76 for the Spartans.
When the day finished, Gallman stood tied for fourth at 4-under. Oref is tied for 20th with a 2-under-par 142. Lawrence is tied for 24th at 144. Comer is tied for 68th at 150 and Otis is 78th at 153.
