Clemson Has 9 Shot Lead at Irish Creek

Clemson, S.C.—Freshmen Turk Pettit and Kyle Cottam combined to shoot 10 under par for two rounds on Saturday and lead Clemson to a nine-shot lead over fourth ranked Georgia Tech entering the final round of the Irish Creek Intercollegiate at the Golf Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C.

Fifteen teams played 36 holes in difficult weather conditions on Saturday on the par 71 course that is 7100 yards in length.   Clemson had team rounds of seven under par 277 and four over par 288 to finish with a 565 team score, nine shots ahead of Georgia Tech’s 574. Clemson and Georgia Tech both shot 277 in the first round, but Clemson defeated the Yellow Jackets by nine shots in the second round.

Pettit and Cottam rank first and second, respectively entering the final round. Their performance was certainly a positive for the future of Larry Penley’s golf team, who is playing this event without Doc Redman, who played in the Masters this week.

Pettit had rounds of 66 and 70 to take a two-shot lead over Cottam after two rounds. Pettit played the par four holes at four-under-par, best in the field of 88 golfers. He also had 10 birdies to tie for first in the field.

Cottam had rounds of 68 and 70 to finish at 138 for the first two rounds, four-under-par. He played the par four holes at one under par, third best in the field.

A third freshman, Colby Patton, is Clemson’s third best player so far with a 145 total, three-over-par, good enough for 18th place. He had rounds of 71 and 74.

Bryson Nimmer, Clemson’s top golfer going into the tournament, had rounds of 72 and 74 for a 146 total, good enough for 23rd place. William Nottingham had rounds of 75 and 74 to rank 37th through 36 holes.

The final round will be played Sunday morning and live scoring is available on golfstat.com.