University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Wendy''s Charleston Shootout
Gallman Finishes 4th At Charleston Shootout
3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 1, 2010
Charleston, S.C. - Josh Gallman recorded five birdies on the day and shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round to finish fourth individually in the Wendy's Charleston Shootout Tuesday afternoon at the Links at Stono Ferry.
Gallman, who is ranked No. 113 in the latest world amateur ranking released by the R&A, finished the tournament at 3-under to finish in a tie for fourth, six strokes back of tournament medalist Russell Henley from Georgia. The senior from Gaffney, S.C., made 12 birdies in the tournament and recorded a 54-hole total of 213. He led the tournament in par-3 scoring at 2-under, eighth in birdies and ninth in par-4 scoring.
"I hit the ball well," said Gallman. "I saw some improvement in my putting, but I didn't make a lot of putts outside of 15 feet. I made some putts, but I wanted to make more. If more putts would have fallen, I would have been up there with Henley. I saw some improvement in my ball striking, but a couple of mental errors kept me from being at the top."
Behind the play of Gallman and Nate Irvin, playing in his first tournament for Upstate, the Spartans rallied from the 10th position to start the day into a tie for eighth to finish the tournament. Upstate completed the second round Monday morning and tallied a 298, lowering its score from a 301 in the opening round Sunday. The second round was halted due to darkness and resumed Monday morning. The Spartans proceeded to lower their score again in the final round, shooting 296 for a 54-hole total of 896. Upstate tied A-Sun foe Stetson for eighth and was just seven strokes out of a top five finish.
Georgia won the tournament with an 846 total, finishing 18-under-par and winning by 20 strokes over College of Charleston in second (866). Stephen F. Austin was third with an 885 total and was followed by Gardner-Webb (889), Charleston Southern (889), Jacksonville (892), Radford (893), Upstate (896), Stetson (896), Presbyterian (898), Towson (908), High Point (913), Longwood (920), Maryland (925) and Navy (965).
"We started every round well," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "Our scores improved each round. Half of the rounds we counted were really good and the other half needed to improve. We really need to count rounds in the mid-70s in order to be up higher on the leaderboard. Everyone who played in this tournament proved they can shoot around par. We really just need to take the last four or five holes of each round and finish it off. I think we are moving in the right direction."
Gallman's fourth-place performance was strong, but nearly overshadowed by the effort of Irvin. Irvin, a junior from Easley, S.C., transferred to Upstate after leaving the North Greenville golf team in 2008. He has not played a competitive round of golf for one and a half years while regaining his eligibility. He stepped to the tee Sunday for the first time in an Upstate uniform and by the time he finished the tournament Monday, claimed a tie for 11th place as the second-lowest Spartan in the event.
Irvin finished his second round this morning with a 2-under-par 70 and shot a 73 in the final round to finish at 2-over-par for the tournament with a 218 total. He finished the tournament 12th in pars and birdies, while finishing eighth in par-4 scoring.
"Nate didn't just play one good round, he played three good rounds in this tournament," said Lawton. "To come back from not playing college golf for a year and a half and be in position to shoot under par says a lot about him. He was solid. He had a bad hole here and there, but would respond by picking up birdies. He had a drive and will to post scores. Nothing seemed to phase him and he played the course the way he should. He didn't try to hit shots that he couldn't and that reflected in his score."
Michael Lawrence finished tied for 56th with a 54-hole total of 232. Matthew Hopper, who posted a 76 in the final round for the third-lowest score on the team, finished tied for 63rd with a 236 total. Brian Horton was tied for 65th, totaling 237 in the tournament.
