CCU

Men's Golf Surges Upward In National Polls

           

Men's Golf Surges Upward In National Polls

CONWAY, S.C. -- On the heels of winning their second tournament in the last three events, the Coastal Carolina men's golf team has moved up in three major national polls. Coastal's highest ranking in school history comes in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Rankings, where the Chanticleers are ranked 17th, up from 24th last week. Coastal is enters the GolfWorld Coaches' Poll at 19th with 104 points, while ranking 20th in the Golfstat Head-to-Head rankings, up eight spots. The Chanticleers are also 21st in the most recent Golf Coaches Association of America poll, released Mar. 30.

Most recently, the Chants captured the team title at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational, Apr. 1-2, defeating a field that had all teams ranked among the top 70 in GolfWeek and the defending national Division II champions. The field also had five teams that were ranked above Coastal at the time. Prior to that, CCU had posted a runner-up finish to No. 11 East Tennessee State in the General Jim Hackler Invitational, Mar. 12-13, and won its second straight Seminole Intercollegiate, Mar. 6-7.

Junior Dustin Johnson (Lexington, S.C./Dutch Fork) has also moved up in the individual rankings in both GolfWeek and Golfstat. Johnson is currently eighth in the nation according to GolfWeek and 11th in the Golfstat Cup . The junior is currently leading the Chants in scoring average at 71.77 strokes per round, posting top-20 finishes in nine of his 10 events this year, including three first-place and five top-five finishes.

Coastal will next be in action defending its Big South Conference title at the 2006 PUPS Big South Championships, Mon.-Wed., Apr. 17-19. The 54-hole event will be contested at The Patriot Golf Club in Greenwood, S.C.