Oct. 23, 2007

WINDERMERE, Fla. – Junior Florian Fritsch finished in 16th place to lead the No. 8 South Carolina men’s golf team to an eighth-place finish at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational. The Gamecocks moved up a spot in the final round at Isleworth Country Club with a 293 on Tuesday.

Fritsch kicked off his first top-20 finish of the season with rock-steady play in the first round, during which four birdies and just one bogey yielded a 69. The junior stumbled on the 18th hole of the second round but still managed a 74 before Tuesday’s final round was more up and down. A double bogey on the par-3 11th followed a birdie on the 10th to put him at +2 heading down the stretch. A birdie on 14 preceded a bogey on 15, forcing Fritsch to rally with a birdie on the par-5 17th to secure his 73 for the round.

Mark Anderson took 23rd place with rounds of 70, 74 and 74 to finish at 218 (+2) for the tournament. The senior opened the tournament with three birdies on Sunday before struggling with a series of bogeys in the home stretch on Monday. Like Fritsch, Anderson’s final round was a rollercoaster ride that featured five birdies but was marred by two triple bogeys.

Improving throughout the tournament, sophomore George Bryan IV finished at 221 (+5) to claim 33rd place. A 76 in the opening round put Bryan behind the eight ball early, but the Gamecocks’ second-lowest scorer this season put together a brilliant back nine on Monday to overcome three double bogeys on the front nine to card a 73 for the round. He returned to his steady play on Tuesday to post a 72 (E) behind three birdies.

Junior Patrick Cunning was South Carolina’s steadiest scorer of the tournament, turning in rounds of 75, 73 and 74 to finish at 222 (+6) in 40th place. Allen Koon completed the team in 68th place with similarly steady scoring of 75, 77 and 76.

No. 5 Georgia defended its second-round lead, claiming the team title by 21 strokes over Clemson. The Bulldogs’ Harris English was the individual medalist after scorching the course with a 66 in the final round. His 205 (-11) was three shots better than Southern Cal’s Jamie Lovemark.

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Georgia 291-275-275=841
2. Clemson 287-290-285=862
3. Southern Cal 284-287-292=863
4. Oklahoma St. 284-289-293=866
5. Wake Forest 285-285-298=868
6. Georgia Tech 293-288-288=869
7. Central Florida 284-294-293=871
8. South Carolina 289-294-293=876
9. Stanford 291-291-297=879
T10. East Tenn. State 291-300-292=883
T10. Illinois 292-294-297=883
12. Kentucky 297-291-298=886
13. SMU 290-298-302=890
T14. Florida State 286-304-304=894
T14. Texas 299-299-296=894
16. Arizona State 296-298-301=895
17. Arizona 301-299-296=896
18. Texas A&M 304-308-303=915