March 31, 2008

Complete First Day Results in PDF Format

Spartanburg, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's golf team turned in the lowest round of the tournament in the second of two rounds played in the 21st Annual Coca-Cola/Wofford Invitational Monday at the Carolina Country Club. The round allowed the Spartans to vault into second place heading into Tuesday's final round.

Upstate turned in a 283 to move from seventh place to second in the team standings heading into the final round. The Spartans turned in a 36-hole 581 total and trail tourney leader Furman by three strokes entering the final round. The Paladins carded rounds of 293 and 285 for a 578 total. Akron, which posted a 289 in the first round, fell to 297 in the second round and trails Upstate by five shots. The Spartans will be paired with Furman and Akron in the final round Tuesday.

"We are only playing one round Tuesday and we really need to get off to a good start," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "We struggled with that today and have in the past. We need to be prepared to be aggressive early. The greens are holding and rolling great which should give our guys the confidence they need to shoot a good score."

Presbyterian is fourth with a 588 total and is followed by Stetson (589), host Wofford (595), Appalachian State (597), Radford (599), USC Beaufort (600), Elon (610) and High Point (611) in the 11-team tournament.

Upstate's major move was made possible, in part, on Michael Lawrence's 67 in the second round. The Spartans opened the tournament with a 298 and was in seventh place after the first 18 holes Monday. Upstate responded in the second round, turning in a 5-under-par total as a team. Lawrence's 67, coincidentally, was also 5-under for the second round. It was also the second lowest round of the day.

"The way for the team to be in contention for the team title is for a player to go low," said Lawton. "After Michael's (Lawrence) first round, he was determined to go low in his second. He played consistently in the second round and was able to post a strong score. He is capable of getting things going and shooting a low score, and he certainly did that today.

"Everyone was playing well in the second round. I was able to go up to all of our players and tell each player that everyone was around par and that Michael was under. That gave us a lot of confidence out there."

Presbyterian's Hugh Morrison, who carded a 66 in the second round, had the lowest round of the day. He is the individual tournament leader after turning in rounds of 70 and 66 for an 8-under-par 136 total. Furman's Ben Goforth turned in rounds of 69 and 67 and is tied with Morrision for the tournament lead.

Lawrence, the individual medalist at the Rutgers Invitational, shaved 10 strokes off of his opening round score with his 67 in round two, giving him an even-par 144 total. He is tied for ninth individually. Josh Gallman, who has won four individual championships in 10 tournaments this season, is the highest Spartan on the leaderboard. He posted rounds of 71 and 70 for a 3-under-par 141 and is tied for fourth place with Wofford's Mike McKenzie. Gallman trails the tournament leader by five strokes heading into the final round.

Tyler Tucker continued his solid play this spring. The individual champion at the BSC Classic in February turned in rounds of 75 and 74 for a 149 total and is tied for 20th heading into the final round. Jamie Lightsey lowered his score by seven strokes from the first round to the second and is tied for 28th with a 151 total. Baxter Culler is tied for 30th after posting a 152 total.

Upstate golfers Jeffery Horton and Andy Brooks are competing in the tournament as individuals. Horton is tied for 30th with a 152 total, while Brooks is tied for 55th after recording a 164 two-round total.