University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Charleston Shootout
Upstate Men's Golf Wins Charleston Shootout
3/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Spartanburg, S.C. – Behind two Top 10 efforts from Adam Goins and Brad Sill and an all-around strong team effort, the USC Upstate men's golf team claimed the championship at the Charleston Shootout hosted by the College of Charleston at the Links at Stono Ferry Tuesday afternoon.
Upstate finished the second round and owned a nine-stroke lead heading into the final round. The Spartans delivered in closing out the tournament with a five-shot victory over San Houston State. Upstate shot rounds of 291, 288 and 302 for an 881 total to win the championship. It marks the second team championship of the year for Upstate after the Spartans took home the Rutgers Invitational in the fall.
"To have three at the top of the leaderboard is always something special," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "We were hitting the ball well, but our putting was really solid. We made the putts we needed to from 5-10 feet out. Everyone was making those. We were patient and deliberate, and it enabled us to win.
"It was a good field with some strong teams. This was probably our best tournament win in the last few years. We have had some really good finishes and are playing well. It is exciting to see where we are at right now heading into the latter part of our schedule."
Upstate won the tournament by five strokes over Sam Houston State (886) and nine shots over Bethune-Cookman (890). Charleston Southern was fourth at 894 and was followed by Fairleigh Dickinson (898), High Point (899), College of Charleston (903), Stetson (908), Loyola-Maryland (918), Connecticut (930), Navy (946) and Hofstra (969).
Goins (Gaffney, S.C.) was simply solid throughout the tournament and posted rounds of 70, 72 and 75 to finish at 1-over-par (217) for the tournament. He finished tied for fourth, one stroke back of a three-way tie for the lead at regulation. In the end, Coastal Carolina's Easton Renwick won the individual title in a playoff. Goins made two birdies in his final round effort. He finished with nine birdies in the tournament.
Sill (Spartanburg, S.C.), coming off a win at Augusta State's Forest Hills Intercollegiate that wrapped up on Feb. 23, finished tied for seventh at 3-over. He began his final round with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and also turned in three birdies en route to an even-par 72 to lead the Spartans in the final round. He shot rounds of 73, 74 and 72 for a 219 total. He finished the tournament with 10 birdies and an eagle.
Upstate placed three players in the Top 15 with freshman Ryan Cornfield (Dudley, England) claiming a tie for 13th. Cornfield went to bed Monday night with a share of the lead when the second round was suspended due to darkness. He shot rounds of 72, 68 and 81 to finish at 221. He finished the tournament with 10 birdies.
The strong effort by Goins, Sill and Cornfield was made even more impressive by the fact that individuals from nationally-ranked teams were in the field. No. 22 Clemson, No. 48 Coastal Carolina and No. 49 Liberty all had players competing for the individual title. Only two of 10 individuals from those teams finished higher than Goins or Sill in the final standings.
Danny Brock (Simpsonville, S.C.) finished tied for 48th in the tournament with a 232 total. But, it was his 75 in the final round that kept the Spartans on top of the leaderboard. He had posted rounds of 76 and 81 in the first two rounds, but his 75 was tied for the second-lowest in the final round for Upstate. Matthew Hopper (Gaffney, S.C.) finished 56th with a 234 total. Sebastian Lopez Bulla (Bogota, Colombia) played as an individual and finished tied for 48th with a 232 total. He finished with a 77 in the final round.
Upstate resumed the second round with the lead in the 12-team field. By the time the teams finished play in the second round, the Spartans retained their position atop the leaderboard, finishing with an even-par 291. Upstate owned a nine-stroke lead over Sam Houston State.
Cornfield led the way with a 4-under 68, picking up four birdies without a bogey in the round. He finished the second round in second place, one stroke behind Coastal Carolina's Easton Renwick.
Goins led Upstate in the second round as well, turning in an even-par 72 and stood tied for fifth at 2-under for the tournament heading into the final round of the day. Hopper and Sill each shot 74 in the second round to round out the scoring and help the Spartans vault into the lead as Upstate counted scores of 68, 72, 74 and 74.
