As the men’s golf team enters its first tournament this weekend in Pebble Beach, California, the team is looking to build off its success from last season when they finished the year ranked in the top 25, according to Golfweek.
After placing first in three of its tournaments last year, the Gamecocks return five starters who finished ninth at the NCAA Tournament last season. Assistant coach Alex Hamilton said that he is expecting another solid season from his team.
“The team has been looking great; we’re really looking forward to the season. We have five returning starters from our team that finished ninth at the NCAAs the year before,” Hamilton said. “Sean Kelly coming back from injury last year is big for us, and we have two very talented freshmen in Alex Handy and Keenan Huskey who we are expecting big things from.”
One of the returning five starters from last year’s team is junior Will Starke, who became one of the top golfers on the team by earning a spot in the lineup of each of the team’s 12 tournaments.
Starke matched a team-high seven top-20 finishes, as well as four top-five finishes. He also led the team with a stroke average of 72.20. Starke also said that he is looking forward to the start of the upcoming season.
“We’ve been looking really good so far. Everyone played some good golf this summer, and it really helps getting Sean [Kelly] back from injury,” Starke said.
Although the Gamecocks finished last season strong, the SEC is always full of tough competition with the likes of Georgia, Texas A&M, Auburn and reigning national champion Alabama. The competition may be tough, but Hamilton likes his team’s chances.
“We’re right there with all those teams. We were second in the SEC two years ago, and last year we beat Georgia, A&M and Auburn,” Hamilton said. “Not many teams beat Alabama last year, and Georgia is always good; but I like our chances and I like our guys.”
Starke also carries that same confidence with the tough SEC schedule.
“There’s not a team in the SEC we can’t compete with; we can compete with the best in the country, no doubt,” Starke said.
With their strong showing last season, as well as bringing back some much needed experience coming into this season, there is always some room for improvement in the team’s game.
“We’re always trying to get better. Just like coach Spurrier does with Dylan [Thompson] each and every day,” Hamilton said. “It’s an up and down game, and it comes and goes for you, but we just need to work on our fundamentals and mental preparation.”
With the Gamecocks starting off its season by playing in The Carmel Cup this weekend, both Hamilton and Starke have similar goals for the team going into the year.
“Our main goals are to win the next event, whatever it may be, and enter it with a winning attitude. We’d like to win the SEC and NCAA, but we’re also always trying to make adjustments,” Hamilton said.
Starke agrees that the team’s focus should be to target a winning attitude, and make it to a championship.
“Our team goal is to win the championship. That’s why we came to USC and other SEC schools to win titles,” Starke said. “We’re not setting any limit for ourselves, and go out there and try to win each event we play. Individually, is kind of the same things, and try to play the best I can each round.”