South Carolina comes back to win Hootie at Bulls Bay

South Carolina picked up its second title in its last three starts on Tuesday – and another win inside state lines – with a seven-shot victory at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. The Gamecocks went 11 under in the final round, pulling away from runner-up Kansas, which managed an 8-under 280 of their own at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C.

The Gamecocks were three shots back to start the day. Every golfer in the South Carolina lineup went under par on Day 3, and three players – Jamie Wilson, Ryan Stachler and Will Miles – posted 3-under 69. Wilson finished third individually at 9 under, behind Kansas’ Charlie Hillier in first at 13 under and Missouri’s Rory Franssen in second at 10 under.

"They came out on fire to start the round today," head coach Bill McDonald said in a release. "I was a little concerned about them to be honest with you. It's been an awful lot of golf for us over the last couple of weeks. The guys showed up this morning and really played a great front nine.”

The Gamecocks have played exceptionally well the last three weeks, going a combined 64 under as a team with two wins in three starts. There was also a third-place finish in a stacked field at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on March 17-18. It has helped propel South Carolina to the No. 16 spot in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.

Second-round leader College of Charleston finished an eventual third after failing to keep pace in the final round. Missouri and Kent State finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Duke, the No. 2 team in the country, finished an uncharacteristic 10th in South Carolina after going 3 over for the week.