University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Sea Trail Intercollegiate
Upstate Hits The Links At Sea Trail Intercollegiate
9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's golf
team will hit the links for the second time this season when it
returns to the Sea Trail Intercollegiate this weekend for the third
time in the last four years.
Upstate is one of 18 teams vying for the team championship in this
year's tournament hosted by Elon. Joining Upstate and Elon in the
tournament are Appalachian State, Bethune-Cookman, Charleston
Southern, The Citadel, Delaware, George Mason, Guilford, Hampton,
High Point, Jacksonville, Old Dominion, Presbyterian College,
Samford, S.C. State, Stetson and Wofford. The Spartans will battle
two teams from the A-Sun, Jacksonville and Stetson.
The Sea Trail Intercollegiate will be played on the Jones Course
at the Sea Trail Golf Resort in Sunset Beach, N.C. The 54-hole
tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes played each
day. The Jones course plays at par 72 and 6,761 yards. A-Sun foe
Stetson won the tournament championship last year.
Upstate played in the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in 2007 and 2008
before taking a year off from the event last year. The Spartans
finished tied for fifth in the tournament in 2007 as Josh Gallman
won the event with a 10-under-par score. It was the first of his
school record seven tournament wins. Upstate finished ninth in the
event in 2008 with Baxter Culler leading the way with an 11th-place
finish.
Upstate head coach Todd Lawton will send the lineup of Brad
Sill, Tyler
Comer, Matthew
Hopper, Will
Graves and McKenzie Oref to the tournament. Oref will be making
his first start this season and the first since the ODU/Seascape
Invitational last October. The other four players in the lineup
played in the season opener at the Springhill Suites
Intercollegiate.
Looking Back At The Springhill Suites
Intercollegiate
Brad Sill opened the tournament with a 69 and the Spartans were in
position for a solid team finish, but a tough final round hampered
Upstate's efforts and the Spartans finished 15th in the 15-team
event. Playing with an inexperienced lineup, the Spartans struggled
to find consistency in the final round and dropped from 11th to
15th (Upstate was seventh after the first round). However, Tyler
Comer carded a solid 73 in the final round and has been strong in
qualifying for this week's event. Sill finished as the low Spartan
in the tournament. He claimed a tie for 33rd after turning in a
6-over-par 222 total. Another positive note is that every player
turned in a round of 75 or better with four of the players carding
rounds of 73 or better.
Oref Returns To Course For First Time In Almost A
Year
Sophomore McKenzie Oref will be back in the lineup for the first
time since last October when he tees off in the Sea Trail
Intercollegiate on Friday. A mainstay in the lineup early in his
freshman season, he struggled with consistency and fell out of the
rotation. With renewed confidence and a string work ethic, he has
played his way back in the lineup.
Comer Comes Into Sea Trail With Confidence
Sophomore Tyler Comer enters the Sea Trail Intercollegiate with
confidence after a strong final round at the Springhill Suites
Intercollegiate and a strong qualifying effort. He carded a 73 in
the final round of the Springhill, the lowest of anyone on the
team, and finished well under-par in qualifying. He is playing with
confidence, which is a major factor in the game of golf which is
largely mental.
South Carolina Products Have Built Program At
Upstate
The state of South Carolina is one of the premier locations for
recreational golf in all of the U.S. It also produces a strong crop
of college golfers. Upstate head coach Todd Lawton has built the
program on talent from the Palmetto state. Beginning with the core
of Baxter Culler, Jamie Lightsey and Tyler Tucker and continuing
with Josh Gallman and Michael Lawrence, the foundation of the
program was established with players from the state. Currently, 10
of the 12 players on this year's team hail from South Carolina,
including all five players in the lineup for this week's
tournament.
Gallman, Lawrence In Q School Pre-Qualifying
While the Upstate men's golfers are plugging away for their
season, two former alums are attempting to make noise in qualifying
for the PGA Q School. Josh Gallman and Michael Lawrence, who
finished their careers in May, are currently playing in a
pre-qualifying event in Georgia. Through three rounds, Gallman is
tied for 12th, while Lawrence is tied for 40th. The top 41 players
and ties will advance to the first stage of Q School. The final
round will take place Friday.
