University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Wendy''s Kiawah Classic
Sill Leads Spartans in Final Round, Cornfield Claims Top 20 Finish at Wendy's Kiawah Classic
10/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Kiawah Island, S.C. – Brad Sill led the USC Upstate men's golf team in the final round of the Wendy's Kiawah Classic, while Ryan Cornfield led the Spartans with a Top 20 finish as the Spartans concluded play in the tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Turtle Point course at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
Sill (Spartanburg, S.C.) shot a 74 in the final round as one of four Spartans to shoot in the 70s. Cornfield (Dudley, England) carded a 76 to finish with a 221 total after rounds of 71 and 74 in the first two rounds to finish 18th in the tournament.
"Ryan had a great tournament," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "He had a couple of bad shots here and there, but he really only had three bad holes. He was steady and hung in there against a field that was strong. When you think about it, there were 26 No. 1 players in this tournament, and a large field overall, that he competed with and did very well."
Upstate rebounded from shooting 320 on Monday to shoot 304 on Tuesday to close out the tournament. The Spartans started the day tied for 21st, but climbed two positions to finish 19th in the 26-team field. They claimed a 926 total, four shots back of Boise State and one stroke ahead of George Washington.
"What was exciting about today was that after being kicked around and beaten up, it was nice to turn in one of the top 10 rounds on the day," said Lawton. "I think the guys responded well. We knew we couldn't win today, but we knew we could go out and get rid of some of the things that gave us trouble the first two days. We weren't where we thought we would be in the end, but this round was good because it moved us in the right direction."
South Carolina led wire-to-wire and claimed first place after shooting 284 on Tuesday and totaling 859 for the tournament. Winthrop was second with an 879 total and was followed by Jacksonville State (885), College of Charleston (890), Marquette (896), Western Kentucky (899), Wisconsin (902), Campbell (903), William & Mary (905), St. John's (906), High Point (909), Radford (912), Charleston Southern (914), UConn (915), Stetson (918), Utah Valley (920), Presbyterian (921), Boise State (922), Upstate (926), George Washington (927), Loyola (Md.) (930), Francis Marion (935), Towson (938), Bradley (947), Butler (947) and Mount St. Mary's (961).
Sill went out in 2-over-par on the front nine and carded two birdies on the back en route to the 74 on Tuesday. He finished with a 244 total. Cornfield turned in another steady round, finishing with 14 pars to shoot 76. He opened with six pars and closed by making par on six of the last seven holes. He claimed 18th with a 221 tournament total.
In addition to Sill and Cornfield, Adam Goins (Gaffney, S.C.) stepped up and shot a 75 to close out the tournament. He went out in 1-over with two birdies on the front nine. He also picked up a birdie on the back nine before finishing with the 75. He finished tied for 67th with a 233 total as the second-best Spartan in the tournament.
Brian Horton (Boiling Springs, S.C.) picked up two birdies and finished the tournament with a 79 on Tuesday and a 54-hole total of 240. Matthew Hopper (Gaffney, S.C.) finished with an 81 on Tuesday and a 239 tournament total.
Caleb Sturgeon, who owned a share of the lead after the first round, shot 68 in the final round to win the individual championship. He finished with a 3-under-par 210 total.
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