Incoming Freshman Fires Opening Round 64

Baker Elmore, who will begin classes at the University of South Carolina and join the golf team this fall, sits atop the leader board following the opening round of the 74th annual South Carolina Golf Association Amateur (SCGA) Championship on Thursday at Beresford Creek Course (7,073 yards, Par 72) at Daniel Island Club.

Hand injury might force Montgomerie to miss upcoming PGA Championship

Baker Elmore of Cheraw shot an 8-under-par 64 to grab the lead after the first round of the South Carolina State Amateur on Thursday at the Daniel Island Golf Club.

Six USC women’s golfers — junior Erica Battle, senior Tiffany Catafygiotu, sophomore Jenna Pearson and freshmen Caroline Rominger, Whitney Simons and Blythe Worley — were named to the National Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athlete Team.

It is the second year in a row the team has placed the most players on the team nationally.

South Carolina and Clemson, two teams off to different starts in 2005, will be among a strong 15-team field in the inaugural Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, which runs today-Tuesday at Bulls Bay Club in Awendaw, near Mount Pleasant.

The Tigers, a perennial national power with the 2003 national title to their credit, have struggled, finishing 13th and 12th the past two tournaments. Coach Larry Penley is shaking up his lineup, with Nick Biershenk and Tanner Ervin getting the second starts of their careers along with regulars Jack Ferguson, Brent Delahoussaye and Brian Duncan.

At Statesboro, Ga., USC’s Mark Anderson beat Georgia Southern’s Jon David Kennedy in a playoff for the individual title at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational on Sunday.

Anderson completed the tournament at 1-under-par 215.

USC is tied with Duke for third in the team standings with a 582.

For her junior golf season at USC, Irmo’s Erica Battle has a revamped swing and two new instructors. Oh, and something else: hearing aids.

Say what?

“I’d had moderate hearing loss since my junior or senior year of high school,” Battle, 20, said. “My mom and my friends would scream ‘Erica!’ They’d call me 10 times before I heard them.

Gamecock junior wins Columbia, S.C., sectional qualifier.

South Carolina junior men's golfer Jake Thompson earned a spot in the 2004 U.S. Amateur Championship on Monday by sharing medalist honors at the Columbia, S.C., sectional qualifier. The 36-hole tournament was contested at the par-72, Spring Valley Country Club.

Mychal Belcher's sight-seeing trip to Charleston took a detour to Columbia last week.

There he saw his future.

The Dorman quarterback committed to South Carolina on his short stop at the school. He is USC's first reported commitment this year.