Head coach Michael Carlisle guided a young 2017 University of South Carolina Aiken golf team to the verge of the NCAA Championship. The Pacers, despite not being as highly ranked as other conference members, ran away with the PBC Championship and played rather well against mainly Division I competition in 2016-17.

Sophomore August Lindvall garnered all-region honors while Lindvall and Johnson Holliday picked up PBC all-conference accolades. Holliday and Michael Hocker earned all-tournament team honors after leading the charge for USC Aiken at the PBC Tournament.

Hocker led the way with a season-low round of 67, which occurred in the third round of the PBC Championship. Samuel Schiff and Holliday each posted rounds of 68 while Lindvall, Axel Ostensson and Schiff tallied rounds of 69.

Holliday posted a team-best 73.3 stroke average while Lindvall was just behind him at 73.4. Schiff posted a 73.8 stroke average over four events while Hocker and rookie Dan Sheehan each accounted for stroke averages of 74.1.

After opening with a seventh-place finish at the Kiawah Island Invitational, Carlisle's team was outstanding the following week at the Saint Leo Invitational. Lindvall and Schiff each shot scores of two-under par, 214, tying for eighth place. Their solid scores helped the Pacers claim a second-place effort.

Although USC Aiken took 10^th at the Firestone Invitational, Lidnvall was up to the challenge against the Division I competition. He posted a six-under par, 210, which was good enough for fourth place.

The Pacers closed out their fall slate with a fourth-place effort at the Camden Collegiate. Despite a difficult course and conditions, the squad had a pair of student-athletes that earned top-10 finishes. Lindvall was the top player with a five-over par, 215, which was good for sixth place. Holliday finished a stroke behind him, tying for 10^th.

Lindvall's two-over par, 218, helped propel USC Aiken to a fourth-place effort at the Newberry College Invitational. Lindvall took fifth at the event.

Sheehan stepped up the following tournament. At the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, the newcomer notched his first top-five finish, taking fifth with a two-over par, 218. Holliday notched a 12^th-place performance while the team tied for third.

Hocker had an 18^th-place effort at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate as the Pacers took ninth. Ostensson posted a 12^th-place finish at the Bobcat Invitational as the squad once again finished in the top 10.

Returning to competition against Division I teams, Carlisle's squad was outstanding at the Furman Intercollegiate. Holliday and Lindvall each tied for 14^th at the event.

After wrapping up the regular season at the Augusta 3M Invitational, the Pacers turned their attention to the PBC Championship.

USC Aiken led the way by two strokes after the first day, but fell behind Lander by four strokes heading into the final round. The Pacers battled back, shooting a blistering 286 over the final 18 holes to win by nine strokes over the Bearcats.

Holliday led the way with a two-under par, 214, which was good enough for second place. Hocker's outstanding score of a season-low 67 came during the third round – and the right time – for USC Aiken. He finished with an even-par, 216, tying for fifth. Sheehan accounted for a 10^th-place finish while Ostensson was 20^th.

The Pacers missed the cutoff for the NCAA National Championship by a pair of strokes at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional. Lindvall and Holliday each posted top-30 finishes.   

With virtually everyone returning – and the addition of strong talent – the Pacers will once again aim for the PBC Championship and a berth at the NCAA National Championship.