Gamecock Men In Eighth After Day One Of SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (USC SID) — After 36 holes of the 2017 SEC Men’s Golf Championship, South Carolina sits in 8th place (9-over) in a loaded 14-team field of some of the nation’s top college golf programs. The Gamecocks shot 283 (+3) in round one after teeing off on the back nine beginning at 8:30 a.m. Conditions got tough as the wind picked up for round two, and Carolina’s young team was able to grind out a 286 (+6). Junior Keenan Huskey paced the team on day one, and he sits T-10th at 1-under par.

Huskey started 2-over through his first five holes in round one, but bounced back and shot 3-under the rest of the way thanks to five birdies, which led the team the first 18 holes. The Greenville, S.C., native, fired a second round 70 (E) to remain at 1-under for the tournament.

Sophomore Scott Stevens is T-24th and 2-over. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native, shot 72 (+2) to start the day with a pair of birdies in the round. Stevens was on fire to start the second 18 holes, as he shot a 3-under 32 on the front nine. He tallied a 38 (+3) down the stretch to finish the second round at even par (70). Both Stevens and Huskey came into the weekend ranked in the top-15 of the league in 18-hole scoring average and the Golfstat individual player rankings.

Freshman Jamie Wilson, who has been a staple in the starting lineup this spring, opened with a 72 (+2). He shot 38 (+3) on the front nine in the second round but finished strong in difficult conditions with an even par 35 on the back nine. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native is T-35th at 5-over.

Sophomore Will Miles shot a pair of 73s and is T-41st. The Hilton Head Island, S.C., native, finished second on the team with four birdies. Sophomore Ryan Stachler carded a solid even par 70 in the first round. He finished with a 77 (+7) and is T-46th.

No. 15 Texas A&M sits atop the leaderboard after shooting 555 (-5) in first 36 holes. No. 3 Vanderbilt (-3) and No. 6 Florida (-2) round out the top-three. They’re the only schools under par for the tournament as a team. Alejandro Tosti of Florida, the 18th ranked player in the country, has a one shot lead in the invidual standings after shooting 64 (-6) and 69 (-1) to get to 7-under.