South Carolina’s golf teams share common goal: California or bust

Using an idea from a song popularized by Al Jolson more than 100 years ago could be the theme for the South Carolina golf teams during the month of May.

“California, Here I Come” is the tune, and both Carolina’s men’s and women’s teams head into regional tournaments with an eye of the NCAA nationals in Carlsbad, California.

Women’s NCAA golf preview

The USC women’s team begin its quest for a berth in the NCAA Championships on Monday in a regional in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Gamecocks’ men do the same a week later in Bremerton, Washington.

Carolina’s women, who won the Southeastern Conference title in their last start, are ranked fourth nationally and will be a No. 1 regional seed for the fifth consecutive year. The Gamecocks have earned a regional spot for 26 straight seasons.

Coach Kalen Anderson’s team won three tournaments and placed second in three others this season. The Gamecocks will be seeking their sixth regional championship and 14th trip to the nationals in her 18-year tenure.

Seniors Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist, graduate Sophia Burnett, sophomore Maylis Lamoure and freshman Eila Galistsky compose the high-powered lineup that won the stroke-play portion of the SEC tourney by six strokes, then won three match-play matches to secure the title.

The upcoming regional format calls for 54 holes of stroke play Monday to Wednesday at six regional sites with the top five in each region advancing to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad beginning May 16.

The Gamecocks will be joined in Charlottesville by a trio of fellow top-25 teams in Virginia (11), Ole Miss (16) and Florida (21) plus the College of Charleston, seeded seventh, and Clemson’s Isabella Rawl and Melena Barrientos competing as individuals. Furman’s Southern Conference championship team is seeded 11th in the Norman, Oklahoma regional.

Men’s NCAA golf preview

On the men’s side, the same format follows a week later with the six regionals beginning May 12 and the Gamecocks making an excursion to Washington State.

The Gamecocks, ranked 20th nationally, are seeded fourth in Bremerton. Fifth-ranked Arizona State earned the No. 1 seed followed by SEC champion Florida and then Utah.

Carolina will be seeking the program’s first trip to the NCAA Championship since 2019 in their first season under coach Rob Bradley.

USC tied for one tournament title and placed fifth or better in eight of their 10 starts. The team’s lowest finish, ninth, came in the stroke-play portion of the SEC Championship that featured 11 teams ranked in the top 25.

Senior Nathan Franks, juniors Frankie Harris and Zach Adams and sophomore Brock Blais have been mainstays in Bradley’s lineup. Individually, Harris has three top-five finishes, Franks has a pair and Adams and Blais have one each.

Coastal Carolina, seeded 12th, will also make the long trek to compete in the Bremerton regional. Elsewhere in men’s regionals, College of Charleston is 10th seeded in Auburn, Alabama, and Furman is No. 11 in Tallahassee, Florida. Clemson’s Andrew Swanson, in Amherst, Virginia, and Presbyterian’s Jeep Patrick, in Auburn, will compete in individuals.

The top five teams in each of the six regionals, played May 12-14, advance to the NCAA Championship that begins May 23 in Carlsbad.

Chip shots

Current USC golfers Frankie Harris (Boca Raton, Florida) and Nathan Franks (Roebuck) plus former Gamecock All-American George Bryan (Aiken) advanced to Final Qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Open at Solina GC. Also moving on are former Furman golfer Keller Harper (Atlanta) and Queens University player John Fahey (Charlotte). ... Louise Rydqvist and Eila Galitsky, standouts on USC’s women’s team, received berth on Team International for the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup matches, which will be played June 5-7 at Congaree GC in Ridgeland. In a side note, co-head coach for the U.S. team will be USC’s Kalen Anderson. ... The Clemson men’s team’s late push to make the NCAA tournament fell short after the Tigers dropped a 3-2 match-play decision to Virginia in the ACC tournament semifinals.

This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 12:35 PM with the headline "South Carolina’s golf teams share common goal: California or bust."