Clemson Finishes Fifth at US Collegiate Championship

Oct. 25, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Corbin Mills fired a one under par 71, and Jacob Burger and Billy Kennerly both shot even par scores of 72 to lead Clemson to a 288 team score and a fifth place finish at the US Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, GA. This was the final day of competition in the fall portion of the schedule for Larry Penley’s Tigers.

Clemson finished with a 868 team score for the 54 holes, four over par. Clemson finished second among the six ACC schools in the field of 14 teams. UCLA finished first with an 852 score, while Washington and Auburn were tied for second at 855. Clemson beat Georgia Tech by 10 shots on Tuesday, but the Yellow Jackets still finished fourth for the event with an even par score of 864, four shots ahead of the Tigers.

Clemson was tied with Iowa for fifth place, while Southern Cal was seventh at 871. Duke finished eighth with an 873 team score. Florida State, ranked in the top 10 in the nation entering the tournament, shot a 304 on Tuesday, 16 shots worse than Clemson, and finished 11th at 882.

Clemson finished the day strong with three birdies on the last hole to move to fifth. Southern Cal was three over on the last hole, so the Tigers went from three down to three ahead of the Trojans on that last hole.

Mills was one of the Tigers with a birdie on the 18th hole and he finished in a tie for 13th after rounds of 74-70-71 for a 215 total. McCuen Elmore slumped to a 74 in the final round, but he still finished tied for 13th for the tournament.

Freshman Billy Kennerly finished off his first fall with the Clemson program in strong style with his second straight 72. He finished 22nd for the tournament with a 218 score.

Hayden Garrett, like Kennerly a true freshman in Clemson’s lineup, had a 73 in the final round and finished at 222, good enough for 41st place. Burger had his best round of the tournament with an even par 72 on Tuesday and he finished with 225 score.

Johannes Veerman of Texas A&M and Dominic Bozzelli were co-medalists for the event with a 210 score.