GolfStat issues first Fall college team and individual rankings

By golfclubsc on October 20, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We got spoiled the last couple of years when it came to looking up where the top players from the Palmetto State were ranked.

With Jacob Bridgeman at Clemson, Ryan Hall at South Carolina and Trent Phillips at Georgia, we didn’t have to look much past the top-10 during the last year or two.

Now those three have moved on to the professional ranks and the state has not produced any men to take their place high up in the first Fall Rankings published by GolfStat.

Instead, it is women’s teams and individuals who are near the top of the rankings in both Division I and DII.

USC Sophomore Hanna Darling is the second ranked women’s college player in the first GolfStat poll (R&A Photo)

South Carolina women are in their usual spot near the top of the women’s ranking. They are fourth, and have the number two player in the ranking.

Sophomore Hanna Darling leads three Gamecock golfers who are ranked in the top-100.

On the strength of a runner-up finish in the season opening Cougar Classic, Clemson is ranked 25th in the first listing.

Individually, newcomer Chloe Holder has played well to start the season and is the highest ranked individual Tiger at number 86.

Emma Schimpf from Charleston is ranked seventh and her start to the season has helped the Cougars to the 31st spot in the first poll.

Women’s teams also are highly ranked in the NCAA Division II poll led by Anderson with Limestone not far behind the Trojans.

DII power Dallas Baptist is on top of the initial rankings, but Anderson a DII finalist for the first time last year, is ranked eighth.

The Anderson Trojans made it to the DII National Championship last year and are playing like they intend to go back this year. The Trojans won the LeeAnn Noble Memorial championship and are ranked 8th in the first DII poll, (Anderson Photo)

Anderson notched a very good win over a strong field with a recent victory at the LeeAnn Noble Invitational.

Kennedy McGaha finished second in the tournament and is ranked 19th.

As a team, Lander has worked their way into the DII Women’s top 20 at number 19.

Freshman Ava O’Sullivan won the King Invitational and has helped her Converse team to their highest ever ranking in the DII Poll at 63. (Converse Photo)

Converse University has set a couple of school records and has a win so far this year as the program is off to perhaps its best start ever and ranked 63rd.

One of the reasons for the Valkyries success is the outstanding play of newcomer Ava O’Sullivan. The newcomer has been honored by Conference Carolina as its player of the week four times so far this year.

O’Sullivan won the King Invitational finishing 5 shots in front of her teammate Stina Voigt.

The win and the rest of her fine play to start the season has O’Sullivan ranked 60th, the highest ranking ever for a Converse University golfer.

There have not been many times when the Furman Paladins have been ranked in the men’s poll higher than the Lady Paladins have in the women’s poll.

The Furman men have hovered around the top of several leader boards and make their debut in the first poll of the season at number 47.

The Lady Paladins, with a win at the Lady Paladin Invitational, are ranked 51st.

Lady Paladin golfers Sarah Eve Rheaume is ranked 34th while last year’s SoCon Player of the Year Anna Morgan is ranked 48th.

Furman’s Will Morlan shared medalist honors at the Old Town Collegiate and also has two other top-tens to start the year. (Furman Photo)

The Paladins Will Morlan has a win and some other good finishes early in the season and has him slotted in the 67th spot among DI men.

Only the College of Charleston Kieron van Wyk, who is 24th, is ranked higher than Morlan among Palmetto State golfers in the rankings,

Without Hall, South Carolina is ranked 48th with their best individual, Evans Lewis ranked 219th while Clemson is ranked 58th without Bridgeman and their best individual is Kian Rose who is 120th in the first poll.

While there is a long season ahead of the Gamecocks and the Tigers, their position in the initial poll is lower than usual.

The Furman’s men’s team out-polling the women is rare and at Anderson their is a similar situation, almost.

Anderson has won three straight tournament championships to start the 2022 season. It is the first time the Trojans have won three straight and first time since 2003-2004 the team has won three tournaments in a season. (Anderson Photo)

The Anderson men have won three tournaments and appear in the first ranking of the season at number 11.

Combined with the Anderson women’s 8th place the Trojans are one of only five schools in the country to have both their men’s and women’s team ranked that high in the polls.

The Trojan men’s team, like the women, have some top-20 ranked players on their roster. m

Reece Coleman was ranked 16th while his teammate Calahan Keever, the tournament champion at the Mizuno Intercollegiate, is ranked 23rd.

GolfStat College team and individual rankings Women http://golfstat.com/index.cfm?event=public.teamRanking&gender=W

GolfStat College team and individual rankings Men http://golfstat.com/index.cfm?event=public.teamRanking&gender=M