Pacers Claim Team Title at Bearcat Golf Classic
GREENWOOD, S.C. – The nationally 18th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken golf team claimed the team title at the Third Annual Bearcat Golf Classic at the par-72, 6,800-yard Greenwood Country Club.
The Pacers concluded the Bearcat Golf Classic with a three-round team tally of 8-under 856 (290-281-285) to take top honors.
USC Aiken's three-round team score of 856 was 19 shots better than second-place finisher Georgia College (288-293-294=875). Columbus State was third at 885 (295-290-300).
The tournament victory at the Bearcat Golf Classic is the first for USC Aiken since claiming the 12th Annual Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate on Mar. 10, 2009.
USC Aiken with the victory at the Bearcat Golf Classic has now won 74 tournaments in its NCAA era.
All five Pacers playing in the Bearcat Golf Classic finished in the top 20 individually.
Gaines Milliner (Aiken, S.C./Aiken) was the top Pacer finisher, ending his efforts in a tie for fourth at 2-under 214. Milliner opened the event by posting a 77 in round one. He rebounded by scoring under par in both the second (68) and third round (69).
The fourth place finish garnered Milliner his first ever top-5 finish.
JP Solis (Morelia, Mexico/Lico Morelia) and Taylor Welborn (LaGrange, Ga./Darton) tied for eighth with a three-round even par score of 216. Solis (70-69-77) has now acquired three top-10 finishes this spring. Welborn (76-69-71) with his eighth place individual finish collected his second top-10 finish of the 2011-12 season.
Matt Atkins (Owensboro, Ky./Henderson State) and Hayden Letien (Sumter, S.C./Sumter) both concluded the Bearcat Golf Classic tied for 18th at 221. It was the seventh top-20 performance of the year for Atkins (71-78-72). Letien (73-75-73) now has finished in the top 20 in two of the last three tournaments for the Pacers.
Flagler's Joel Dahlenburg claimed individual medalist honors at the Bearcat Golf Classic with a 7-under 209 (66-67-76).
The Pacers will next close their week by playing in the 54-hole Insperity Augusta State Invitational at the Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. on Saturday, Mar. 31 and Sunday, Apr. 1.
Bearcat Golf Classic
Dates: 03/26-03/27, 2012
Round: 2
Par-Yardage: 72-6800
Fin. School Scores
1 USC Aiken 290 281 285 856
T 4 Gaines Milliner 77 68 69 214
T 8 J.P. Solis 70 69 77 216
T 8 Taylor Welborn 76 69 71 216
T 18 Matt Atkins 71 78 72 221
T 18 Hayden Letien 73 75 73 221
Fin. School Scores
1 USC Aiken 290 281 285 856 -8
2 Georgia College 288 293 294 875 +11
3 Columbus State 295 290 300 885 +21
4 Carson-Newman Coll. 300 286 301 887 +23
5 Newberry College 297 292 300 889 +25
6 Georgia Southwestern 299 295 297 891 +27
7 Flagler College 297 292 304 893 +29
8 Queens Univ of Charl 299 297 298 894 +30
Coker College 301 299 294 894 +30
10 Erskine College 296 300 300 896 +32
11 Armstrong Atlantic 295 297 305 897 +33
Belmont Abbey Coll. 309 293 295 897 +33
13 Montevallo, U of 304 295 310 909 +45
14 Clayton State Univ. 305 296 316 917 +53
15 Mount Olive College 304 309 306 919 +55
16 North Georgia 311 301 314 926 +62
17 Lander University 308 311 316 935 +71
