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Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate head coach Todd
Lawton will send his third different lineup into the third
tournament this fall when the Spartans play in the Mizuno Savannah
Intercollegiate hosted by Georgia Southern at Savannah Quarters
Country Club Monday and Tuesday.
Savannah Quarters Country Club is a par 72, 7,016-yard layout
designed by Greg Norman, who held the record for the most weeks
ranked No. 1 in the world professional rankings prior to Tiger
Woods dominating the sport of men's golf. The club was also the
site of the 2007 NCAA Division II Regional that was a springboard
for the Upstate men's golf team to the NCAA Nationals a
second-place finish.
The Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate is a 15-team event played over
54 holes. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.
In addition to Upstate, A-Sun schools Florida Gulf Coast and
Jacksonville will participate in the tournament. The field consists
of Arkansas State, Armstrong Atlantic State, Charleston Southern,
Davidson, Elon, FGCU, Gardner-Webb, Georgia College & State
University, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Samford, USC Upstate,
Troy, Winthrop and Wofford.
Upstate will send the lineup of Brad
Sill, Tyler
Comer, Brian Horton, Matthew
Hopper and McKenzie
Oref into action this week. Adam
Goins will also play in the tournament as an individual. The
lineup is the third different lineup used by Lawton this year with
Horton and Goins making their 2010 tournament debuts this week.
Coming off of a strong effort at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate,
Oref took over the team lead with a 72.0 stroke average on the
year. Sill, who is playing his first season in an Upstate uniform
after spending his freshman year at Winthrop, is second with a 73.8
stroke average. Comer and Hopper have been steady at 74.7 and 74.8,
respectively. Horton has yet to play in a tournament this season,
but owns a career 77.5 stroke average.
Looking Back At The Sea Trail Intercollegiate
McKenzie Oref opened the tournament with a 6-under-par 66 and
claimed a tie for 16th individually to lead Upstate at the Sea
Trail Intercollegiate Sept. 24-26. The 66 tied a school record for
the lowest round and broke the school's record for the round most
under par. The 66 highlighted a solid effort for the sophomore from
Easley, S.C., who was playing in his first tournament since last
October. In addition to Oref, every member of the team turned in a
round of 73 or better in the tournament. The Spartans finished the
event tied for ninth with A-Sun foe Stetson. Brad Sill finished
with rounds of 73, 73 and 75 as the second-lowest Spartan,
finishing tied for 33rd. Elon, the host of the tournament, claimed
the team championship.
Oref Makes History At Sea Trail
Sophomore McKenzie Oref learned a lot from playing with former
Upstate standout Josh Gallman last year. Gallman is the best player
to ever play in the history of the men's golf program. But, Oref
can claim one achievement that Gallman cannot, owning the school
record for the lowest round under par. Oref tied Gallman with a 66
as the lowest score in program history, but his 6-under total is
the most under par at Upstate. Gallman's 66 came on a par-71 course
and was 5-under.
Horton Makes 2010 Tournament Debut
With a tremendously deep team, qualifying for tournament spots has
been intense so far this season. Sophomore Brian
Horton, who played in 10 events last year for Upstate, had to
sit out the first two tournaments of 2010 after just missing out in
team qualifying. With a strong outing in qualifying last week, he
comes into the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate in the No. 3 spot.
He finished last year with a 76.5 stroke average and claimed a
share of the individual championship at the Palmas Del Mar
Collegiate Classic with Josh Gallman last spring, his first
tournament victory.
Scores Coming Down
Tyler Comer, Matthew Hopper and McKenzie Oref have led the
contingent of returning players this season. Each have lowered
their stroke average this season from over their career averages.
Oref entered the season with a 75.5 career average and owns a 72
stroke average, an improvement of 3.5 strokes. Hopper entered the
season with 77.3 stroke average, but owns a 74.8 average this
season, an improvement of 2.5 strokes. Comer entered the season
with a 76.4 average, but owns a 74.7 average this season, an
improvement of 1.7 strokes.
Gallman, Lawrence In Q School Pre-Qualifying
Former Upstate standouts Josh Gallman and Michael Lawrence each
made the cut in pre-qualifying for PGA Q School and have advanced
to the first stage of Q School later this month.