Upstate Men's Golf Fall Recap: Spartans Build for Spring
11/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's golf team played an unusual schedule in the fall, but navigated through a treacherous first tournament and brought home a team and individual championship as the Spartans hope to use the fall to build for the spring season.
Upstate began the year making its return to the Invitational at the Ocean Course at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort south of Charleston. The tournament was played just three weeks after the completion of the PGA Championship, turning an already challenging course into a monster for college golfers. Most of the Spartans struggled, but freshman Ryan Cornfield (Dudley, England) gave a glimpse of what would come for the remainder of the fall by finishing as the top Spartan in the tournament.
Upstate then traveled to New Jersey to compete in the friendly confines of the Rutgers University Golf Course for the Rutgers Invitational. In five trips to the event, Upstate has come home with three team and four individual tournament titles. The Spartans claimed their second straight team championship by posting rounds of 289, 289 and 296. Adam Goins (Gaffney, S.C.) also claimed his second straight individual title in the event with rounds of 67, 70 and 74.
Upstate then took more than a month off from competition before returning to the course at the Wendy's Kiawah Classic in late-October, an unusually lengthy break. Cornfield turned in another strong performance in claiming a Top 20 finish. However, the Spartans struggled as a team to finish 19th out of 26 teams.
Upstate, though, showed what it was capable of in the season-ending tournament at the Stetson/CFSC Invitational. The Spartans led the field, which had three other A-Sun schools as participants, after 36 holes and settled for a fourth-place finish. Goins tied for the lead after regulation play and settled for a tie for second in a three-way playoff for the championship. Cornfield finished fourth and Matthew Hopper brushed off an up and down fall by claiming a tie for 11th to give the Spartans three players in the Top 15.
Cornfield led the Spartans in the fall with a 74.3 stroke average, a tremendous accomplishment for a freshman and on a team with so many veteran players. He posted two Top 10 efforts and finished in the Top 5 once.
Cornfield bursting onto the scene and turning in consistent efforts to lead the Spartans overshadowed a standout fall showing from Goins. Goins won the Rutgers Invitational for the second straight year and claimed his third individual title of his career. He ranks second in program history with three tournament wins behind Josh Gallman's seven career victories. He was named the A-Sun Golfer of the Week twice.
2012 Fall Tournament Recap
Invitational at the Ocean Course
Teams: 15
Upstate Finish: 15th
Top Spartan: Ryan Cornfield (T44th)
Best Team Round: 314
Rutgers Invitational
Teams: 15
Upstate Finish: 1st
Top Spartan: Adam Goins (1st)
Best Team Round: 289
Wendy's Kiawah Classic
Teams: 26
Upstate Finish: 19th
Top Spartan: Ryan Cornfield (18th)
Best Team Round: 302
Stetson/CFSC Invitational
Teams: 9
Upstate Finish: T4th
Top Spartan: Adam Goins (T2nd)
Best Team Round: 288
- Upstate finished the fall season by shooting under 290 on three occasions and under 300 four times.
- The Spartans claimed their third tournament championship at the Rutgers Invitational in five appearances in the tournament.
- Adam Goins won his third career individual championship with his win at Rutgers. It marked his second straight victory in the tournament and the fourth individual title in five appearances for an Upstate golfer in the event.
- Adam Goins tied the single round school record with a 66 in the first round of the Rutgers Invitational. He became the fifth Spartan to shoot 66 and the third to do it on a par-71 course.
- Freshman Ryan Cornfield led all Upstate players with a 74.3 stroke average in the fall.
- Adam Goins ranks second on the team with a 74.6 stroke average.
- Cornfield and Goins were the only two Spartans to average under 75, though three others Spartans average under 80 for the season.
- Adam Goins currently ranks second all-time at Upstate with a 74.3 career stroke average.
