Upstate Men's Golf Inks Gaffney Native Taylor During Early Signing Period
12/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Spartanburg, S.C. – Building on a pipeline that started with all-time great Josh Gallman and continuing with current standouts Adam Goins and Matthew Hopper, USC Upstate head men's golf coach Todd Lawton has signed Gaffney High School golfer Trey Taylor to a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period.
Taylor is the fourth golfer from Gaffney to sign at Upstate and will join the program next fall. Gallman played from 2007-11 and is the program's all-time leader in tournament wins (7), stroke average and every other career and season record at the school. Goins is a junior on the 2012-13 team and ranks second behind Gallman in tournaments wins with three. Hopper is a senior this year and has been a mainstay in the lineup since his freshman season and has five career Top 10 finishes.
"Trey is a low-key golfer who works hard and has loads of talent," says Lawton. "He has shown he can post low scores in the biggest events and has a strong academic record. I look forward to him making an impact for us and continuing the legacy of his Gaffney High predecessors. I am excited that he chose us with the many options he was presented."
Taylor is a senior at Gaffney this season and will look to build on a solid junior season and summer of junior golf. He qualified for the 4A state tournament as an individual last spring and claimed a tie for 18th in the tournament played at Furman. Prior to the state tournament, he finished tied for third in the Region III 4A tournament and tied for 10th in the 4A Upper State tournament. He was an all-region selection and was named an all-area player by the Spartanburg Herald-Journal with a 36.5 stroke average. He also was named to the All-County team in Spartanburg. As a freshman in 2010, he teamed with Goins to help Gaffney finish third in the 4A state tournament.
Taylor turned in a strong junior resume over the last year. He has played in seven events since the start of June. He finished third in the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) Junior Match Play. He shot 73 in his qualifying round to advance to the match play portion of the tournament. He won his first two matches by scores of 4&3 and 2&1 to advance into the Round of 16. He defeated Alex Handy in a marathon match lasting 22 holes to move into the quarterfinals. In the quarters, he claimed a 4&3 victory over Josh Fickes to setup a semifinal showdown with Austin Langdale. Despite a tough battle, Taylor fell to Langdale, 2&1 before beating Bryce Howell in the consolation.
Taylor tied for third at the Carolinas Junior PGA Championship with rounds of 68 and 73, finishing two strokes back of the tournament winner. He led the South Carolina Junior Championship after two rounds with scores of 69 and 75 before settling for a tie for ninth. He is currently the seventh-ranked junior player in South Carolina among 2013 graduates and 12th overall.
