Lowcountry Golfers Standout at NCAA Regionals
Kamito Hirai, a junior on the Winthrop University Men’s Golf Team received an at large bid to play in the NCAA Regional Championship held at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, GA, held May 17-19, 2012.  The former Pinewood Preparatory School stand-out golfer had his best season yet for Winthrop.  Hirai had a stroke average of 72.47 and was ranked 7th in the Big South Conference.  He had five top 20 finishes and three top 10 finishes in the 2011-12 season, including winning Individual Medalist Honors at the C&F Bank Intercollegiate.
Hirai finished the tournament tied for 29th with rounds of 76-68-75 for a total of 219 (+6).  He was just the second Winthrop golfer to qualify for the region and his finish was thirty places better than previous qualifier Matt Johnson’s 59th place in 2005.  Hirai will complete his college career starting this fall when he returns to Winthrop.
Austin Cody, a sophomore on the Duke University Men’s Golf Team recently competed for Duke at the NCAA Regional Championship held at Grandover Resort & Conference Center Golf Course in Greensboro, NC, May 17-19, 2012.  The former Pinewood Preparatory School stand-out golfer made his second appearance at an NCAA Regional Tournament.   Last year he was part of the Duke team that advanced all the way to the final round of match play at the NCAA National Championship.
Cody finished the tournament in a tie for 23rd place with rounds of 79-71-72 for a total of 222 (+6).  Duke shot rounds of 301-291-289 for a total of 881 (+17) to finish in 6th place overall, ending the season just three shots short of qualifying for the national tournament.  Cody will return to Duke for his junior year in the fall.

 

CSU’s Pastor & Denlinger Invited to NCAA Regionals
Charleston Southern University Men’s Golf Team had two players receive at large bids to the NCAA Regional Golf Championship held at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, GA, held May 17-19, 2012.  Jacobo Pastor and David Denlinger were among forty-five golfers chosen from across the country to receive individual bids to the tournament.
This was Pastor’s second consecutive bid to an NCAA Regional Tournament.  He shot rounds of 74-69-78 to finish at 221 (+8) in a tie for 45th.  Pastor will leave CSU as the best golfer in program history with a career scoring average of 72.55.  He is a three-time Big South All-Conference honoree who took 3rd place at the 2012 BSC Championship.
This is Denlinger’s first bid to the tournament.  He shot rounds of 78-69-78 for a total of 225 (+12), finishing in a tie for 60th place.  Denlinger has played at the national level before; qualifying for match play at last summer’s US Amateur Open.  He also ranks near the top of the career scoring list at CSU, coming in tenth with a scoring average of 74.83.  Denlinger is a two time BSC All-Academic Team honoree and a member of the 2011 All-Conference Team.  He will be returning to CSU for his senior year in the fall of 2012.
Fourth ranked University of Alabama won the tournament with a team score of 828 (-24) a full 25 shots in front of runner-up East Carolina University at 853 (+1).  Alabama took the top three spots on the individual leader board including Justin Thomas at 204 (-9), Bobby Wyatt at 205 (-8) and Cory Whitsett at 208 (-5).