USCB golfer takes top seed in S.C. Amateur Match Play brackets

USC Beaufort’s Riley Schank shook off a pair of early bogeys to claim medalist honors Thursday at the South Carolina Amateur Match Play, winning a playoff to claim the top spot in the 32-man bracket at Bear Creek Golf Club.

After five birdies in taking the first-round lead, Schank managed just two on Thursday amid gusting winds and temperatures that reached 97 degrees. A 3-over-par 75 left him even with Blythewood’s Bryce Howell, sending them back to the 18th tee to settle the top seed.

Both men found bunkers off the tee, forcing them to lay up at the par-5 finisher. Schank’s wedge stopped 10 feet below the hole, converting his birdie after Howell missed his attempt from a little farther out.

“Now I just want to win my matches, one hole at a time,” said Schank, who will be a junior at USCB next fall. “I only have to beat one guy at a time, so that is the plan.”

Schank will open match-play competition against Beaufort’s Josh Fickes, a Clemson junior who won a playoff against Mount Pleasant’s Christian Sease for the final spot in the bracket.

Bluffton’s J.D. Hoft and Beaufort’s Matt O’Quinn tied for fourth in the stroke-play portion, with Hoft taking the higher seed. In all, 12 of the 32 golfers who advanced to match play are from Beaufort or Jasper counties.

This story was originally published June 16, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "USCB golfer takes top seed in S.C. Amateur Match Play brackets."