Stillwater, Okla.—Freshman Colby Patton shot an even-par 72, and Bryson NImmer and Doc Redman both had top 15 finishes to lead Clemson to a 13th place finish out of 30 teams at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla. The 13th place finish was the best national finish for Clemson since the Tigers finished fifth at Purdue in 2008.
Monday’s fourth round of stroke play concluded Clemson’s season. The top eight teams at the end of stroke play move on to the match play portion of the event that determines the national championship.
Clemson shot a 16-over-par 304 score as a team, just one shot more than Clemson shot in the final round in 2003 when Larry Penley’s Tigers won the National Championship at the same course. The scores were high for all the teams as the average score on Monday was 75.6, highest of the week
“This was a tough day for scoring for everyone,” said Head Coach Larry Penley, who led his program to a top 15 national finish for the 19th time in his 35-year career. “The greens were faster than when we started, but the big thing was the pin placements. They were the most difficult of the week.”
Patton had his best round of the tournament and the best round by a Clemson golfer on Monday with his even-par 72. There were only 14 individual rounds of even par or better among the 84 players on Monday. Patton had four birdies and four bogeys in carding his 72. The son of former Clemson All-American Chris Patton had consecutive birdies on holes 14, 15, 16 and was two under par late in his round.
“I was very proud of Colby, especially today. To shoot even par today was an accomplishment. He really played well tee to green. “
Nimmer shot a six-over-par 78. He began the round at nine under par with a two shot lead on the field. He was still five-under par for the tournament and just one shot off the lead when he came to the sixth hole, his 15th hole of the day. He hit a fine drive in the fairway, but his second shot went over the green
Nimmer sculled a chip and ended up with a triple bogey seven, ending his dream of an individual national championship. He came back with a birdie on the next hole, but finished with a six over par day.
Par four scoring was his problem on Monday. Nimmer was five-under-par on par four holes for the first three rounds of the tournament, three shots better than any player in the field. But, he was eight-over-on the par four holes on Tuesday.
Nimmer was attempting to become the first player in Clemson history to shoot 75 or better in every round in a season. But his streak ended Monday after 33 straight. Still, his score did count towards Clemson’s team score and he ends the season with a perfect 34-34 in terms of counting scores.
Nimmer shot a Clemson NCAA record 64 in the first round, the best round by any golfer this week. He then had rounds of 75-68-78 to finish in seventh place with a 285 score, three-under-par. His seventh-place finish was the best by a Clemson golfer at the NCAA Tournament since Kyle Stanley finished second in 2009
Redman shot a four-over-par 76. He finished with three birdies, including one on the ninth hole, his final hole of the day. It allowed Clemson to tie Arizona State for 13th place.
Redman finished 15th individually with an even par 288 score. Combined with Nimmer, it is the first time Clemson has had two players finish in the top 15 of the NCAA national tournament since 2001 when D.J. Trahan finished seventh and Lucas Glover finished 11th at the Duke University Course.
Kyle Cottam shot a 78 on Tuesday as Clemson’s fourth counting score. The freshman finished 75th with a 305 score for the 72 holes, 17 over par. William Nottingham was Clemson’s number-five player and shot a 79
NCAA National Championship
Karsten Creek, Stillwater, Okla
May 25-28, 2018
Par 72, 7,460 yards
Final Stroke Play Team Results
Oklahoma State 1152, 2. Duke 1160, 3. Texas Tech 1161, Oklahoma 1163, 5. Auburn 1167, 6. Alabama and Texas 1168, 8. Texas A&M 1169, 9. Vanderbilt 1170, 10. Kent State 1171, 11. Illinois 1176, 12. Arkansas 1179, 13. Clemson and Arizona State 1182, 15. North Carolina 1187.
Clemson Individual Results
