Clemson Opens Golf Season at Carpet Classic

Sept. 14, 2006

Clemson, SC- Clemson will bring three sophomores and two freshmen to the Carpet Classic in Dalton, GA in the season opening golf tournament for Larry Penley’s Tigers. The 18-team tournament that will be contested over Friday, Saturday and Sunday will feature eight of the top 17 teams in the Golfweek preseason poll.

Clemson is fourth in the nation in the preseason rankings by Golfweek and Golf World as the Tigers try to improve on last year’s seventh place national finish at the NCAA Tournament.

Clemson must replace 2006 senior All-ACC players Brian Duncan and Stephen Poole. This will be one of the youngest Tiger teams in recent years. Clemson’s lineup will be led by sophomore Vince Hatield, the top returning stroke average player from 2006. He had a 73.55 average to rank third on the team last year and it was the fifth best in Clemson history by a freshman.

Phillip Mollica will be second in the lineup. The native of Anderson won the Monroe Amateur this past summer. David May, a starter in 11 events as a freshman last year, will be in the number-three position.

Kyle Stanley, a freshman from the state of Washington, is in the lineup for the season opening event. Ranked among the top five junior players in the nation over the last two years, Stanley won two major amateur events this past summer, including the Southern Amateur, which earned him an invitation to next year’s Bay Hill Classic on the PGA Tour.

Ben Martin, who red-shirted last year, will also be in the lineup for the Tigers. Martin won a pair of amateur events this past summer as well.

The Carpet Classic field includes second ranked Georgia, fourth ranked Clemson, eighth ranked Georgia Tech, ninth ranked Wake Forest, 12th ranked Duke, 14th ranked Florida, 16th ranked Georgia State ranked East Tennessee State. Other non top 20 teams in the field are Alabama, Auburn, Augusta State, NC State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.

Live scoring for the event is available beginning Friday on golfstat.com