Hester Signs Four in Class of 2018-19

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson Golf Coach Kelley Hester has signed four young ladies to national letters of intent during the November signing period.   Joining the program will be Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City, Georgia; Gracyn Burgess of Lexington, S.C.; Lindsay May of Auburn, NY and Alexandra Swayne of Maineville, Ohio.

All four newcomers are ranked in the top 100 in the nation among United States women’s golfers by Junior Golf Scoreboard for the class of 2018.   Three of the four are rated No. 1 in their respective state and the fourth is ranked fourth in the state.

“This 2018 class marks one of the largest and most impressive I have signed,” said Hester.    “It will be fun to see how they make their mark on Clemson Women’s Golf as we work toward competing for ACC and NCAA Championships.”

Shepherd is the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia according to Junior Golf Scoreboard and the AJGA Rolex rankings. Nationally, she is ranked eighth for the class of 2018 by Golfweek, 17th by AJGA and 25th by Junior Golf Scoreboard.

As a junior, Shepherd won the GSGA Girls Championship by six shots and was a member of the winning Georgia team in the Georgia-South Carolina Girls Team Match Play. She made a birdie on the last hole to secure the team title for Georgia.   The fine all-around athlete has also been an all-state selection in basketball and her high school team has won the state title twice.

Swayne comes to Clemson from Kings High School in Ohio where she is ranked as the top player in Ohio by National Junior Scoreboard, the AJGA and Golfweek. Nationally, she is ranked No. 75 among US players by Junior Golf Scoreboard. In 2014 she competed at Augusta National in the national Drive, Chip and Putt competition.

Swayne had five top five finishes in AJGA events this past summer, including medalist honors at Penn State with a 54 hole score of three-under-par.   She was named All-City, and All-State as she finished fourth at the state tournament. Swayne led the state of Ohio in stroke average per nine holes with a 35.41 figure.

Burgess comes to Clemson from Lexington High School in Lexington, S.C., the same school that current Clemson senior Sydney Legacy attended. Burgess, ranked No .1 in the state of South Carolina by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, has played on two state championship teams and two that have finished second. Burgess finished third individually at the state championship in 2017 and second in 2016. She is a three-time all-state selection.

As a senior, Burgess was named the SCJGA Player of the Year and the CGA Player of the Year. She was a member of the SCJGA Can-Am team as well. As a junior, Burgess became the first female junior golfer to win the CGA Twin States, the CGA Vicki Disantis Championship and the CBA Junior Girls Championship in the same year.

May is the cousin of former Clemson golfer David May, who was co-champion of the 2009 ACC Championship.   Lindsay is ranked as the No. 4 player in the state of New York by Junior Golf Scoreboard and is the No. 79 United States player for 2018.

May is already a three-time New York State Champion, as she won the tournament in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She finished second last spring. She was the first woman to win three straight state championships in New York. Last summer she reached match play at the US Juniors. In 2016 she won the New York State Amateur by eight shots.