2000 Tiger Golf Notes

June 12, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson will be a deep, experienced team in 2000-01 as four starters return from the team that finished second in the final Sagarin/Golfweek poll and seventh at the NCAA Championships. Clemson will have three seniors returning, including All-Americans Lucas Glover and John Engler, who have both played in six NCAA Tournaments, three regionals and three national tournaments. Overall, Clemson has a roster returning that has played in a combined 18 NCAA Tournaments, including nine national tournaments.

Jani Saari is another player who will be a senior in 2000-01. The native of Greenville has two top 50 NCAA finishes to his credit, and shot an even par 288 at the 2000 tournament. Sophomore D.J. Trahan, Clemson’s top performer at the NCAA National tournament with a 282 score and 15th place finish, will also return to the lineup. Ben Duncan will be a sophomore who will be back. Duncan played in four events last year. Incoming freshman Jack Ferguson of Seneca, SC, will also join the team.

Clemson Vets in NCAA Play (Note: Overall includes NCAA Regional play)

Clemson’s NCAA Tournament History With Clemson’s #7 national finish in the 2000 NCAA Tournament at Grand National in Opelika, AL, the Tigers moved to among the most prominent programs in the country. The 2000 appearance was the 19th consecutive year in the national tournament for the Tigers, the second longest streak in the country. Only Oklahoma State with 54 straight appearances in the nationals is longer.

Clemson now has four straight top 10 finishes at the NCAA golf tournament. This is the first time Clemson has had four straight top 10s in golf and the first Clemson program to do it since the 1980-84 era when both the Clemson men’s and women’s cross country teams had four straight top 10s. The last program to have five was the men’s soccer program, which had seven straight top 10s from 1973-79.

The Tigers have been to the NCAA Tournament every year since 1982 and have been every year since 1980 with the exception of the 1981 event. Thus, Clemson has been to the NCAA Tournament 19 straight years and 20 of the last 21. All of Clemson’s NCAA national appearances have come since 1980 when Clarence Rose was an All-American for the Tigers.

The Tigers finished in the top 15 of the NCAA National Tournament in nine of the 10 years in the decade of the 1990s. That includes 1997 and 1998 when Clemson finished third and second, respectively. Clemson was the only school in the country to finish among the top three teams in the country each of those seasons. The only year in the 1990s that Clemson failed to make the cut was in 1995 at Ohio State.

Only Arizona State and Oklahoma State made the cut in every year of the decade of the 1990s. Clemson and Florida were the only schools to do it in nine of the 10 years in the 1990s. Florida is not in the field in 2000 and Arizona State did not make the cut in 2000.

Clemson has finished in the top 20 of the national event 13 of the last 14 years, including six top 10 finishes in the last eight years. Clemson was fourth in 1993 and ninth in 1994. Overall, Clemson has had 17 top 20 finishes in its history.

Clemson’s NCAA National Tournament History

Clemson’s top 10 Individual National Finishes

Clemson’s NCAA Tournament History

Clemson Has Four NCAA Regional Titles Clemson won its fourth NCAA East Regional championship in 2000, a 12-stroke victory at Glenmaura Country Club near Scranton, PA. Clemson also won the East regional in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Clemson is now tied with Arizona State for the most regional championships. That program gained victory in the West Regional in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999.

Clemson was attempting to become the first school in NCAA history to win a conference championship, a regional and the national championship in the same year.

Clemson Had Two Aces in 1999-00 After going 70 years without a Clemson player scoring a hole-in-one in a competitive tournament or match play, Clemson had two players record a hole in one 10 days apart in the fall of 1999.

First, Michael Hoey, had an ace on the par three 16th hole at The Ridges Golf and Country Club in Johnson City, TN on September 11, 1999. It was his second round of the day and he aced the 205 yard hole with a five iron. Hoey was playing in the tournament as an individual and his score did not count toward Clemson’s team score in the event. Hoey decided to return to his native Ireland at the semester break and is no longer at Clemson.

Ten days later, on September 21, 1999 at Grand National in Opelika, AL, John Engler aced the par three 17th hole. Engler was playing in the third round of the Ping/Golfweek Preview. That is the site of this week’s NCAA National Tournament. Engler used a nine-iron for the 150 yard hole, a shot that he never saw once it hit the green because of the contour of the hole. That was the third ace of Engler’s career. He had one as a junior player in a tournament in Florence, SC and another as a youth at Sea Island. The Sea Island ace was during a recreational round.

Clemson Wins East Regional

Moosic, PA – Jonathan Byrd, Lucas Glover and John Engler all finished in a tie for fourth in the individual race, leading Clemson to the team championship of the NCAA Division I Eastern Regional at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, PA.

It was the fourth time in the last eight years that Clemson has won the Eastern Regional, more than any other school. It also means Clemson will play in the National Tournament for the 19th straight year, the second longest active streak in the nation.

Clemson won the event by 12 strokes, finishing with an 871 team score. North Florida was a surprising second place at 883, while ACC rival Georgia Tech was third at 884. East Tennessee State was fourth at 888, while Georgia State and Georgia tied for fifth at 889. Mississippi State, coached by former Clemson All-American Nicky Goetze, finished seventh with an 891 score. North Carolina, Wake Forest and Virginia also made the 11-team cut, but NC State did not when top player Carl Pettersson was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

John Engler was Clemson’s top performer on Saturday with a 69, giving him a 215 score for the three rounds. Engler played the final two rounds in three-under-par after an opening round 76. Lucas Glover shot a one-over-par 72 on Saturday to finish with his 215 total. Byrd shot a 73 on Saturday to finish at 215.

It marked the first time that Clemson had three players finish in the top four at the NCAA Regional. Jani Saari shot a 76 on Saturday to finish at 231, while D.J. Trahan had an 81 to finish at 242.

Clemson at NCAA East Regional Glenmaura National, Moosic, PA

Clemson Finished Second at Ping-Golfweek Preview September 21, 1999

Auburn, AL – Greenville’s Lucas Glover shot a six-under-par 210 to lead Clemson to a second-place team finish among the 18 teams at the Ping-Golfweek Preview at Auburn, AL. The 54-hole event took place at the Grand National Country Club in Opelika, AL. The par 72 course that played 6984 in length is the site of this spring’s NCAA National Championship.

Northwestern shot a 282 team score in the third and final round to defeat the Tigers by eight shots. Clemson had a three-stroke lead entering the final round, but fired a 293 team score after rounds of 279 and 284 to open the tournament. Northwestern was led by NCAA Champion Luke Donald, who won the event with a 208 score, including a 67 in the final round.

Clemson had a team score of 856, seven shots ahead of third-place Arizona State. Georgia Tech was fourth with an 864 team score, while defending NCAA Champion Georgia and Oklahoma State were tied for fifth with 868. Houston was seventh at 877, while South Carolina finished eighth with an 881 score.

Glover shot a second round 67 on the way to his 210 score, good enough for third place individually. Northwestern had the top two finishers individually. After Donald’s 208 score , teammate Jess Daley was second with 209. Glover, a player for Wade Hampton High during his prep career, had rounds of 71-67-72 and was the only Tiger to shoot par or better in every round.

D.J. Trahan and John Engler finished tied for sixth with 214 scores. Trahan had a 68 in the opening round, his first round as a Tiger, while Engler had a 69 in the first round. It was quite a tournament for Trahan, the native of Inman and Dorman High. He finished in the top 10 and shot under par for his first college tournament.

Jonathan Byrd, playing in his first college event of the year after competing for the United States team in the Walker Cup, shot a 218 for the 54 holes, good enough for 18th. Freshman Ben Duncan shot 221 and tied for 34th.

Clemson at 1999 Ping/Golfweek

Tigers Had Nine Straight Under-par Tournaments Clemson had its record streak of nine straight under-par tournaments broken at the NCAA East Regional May 18-20. Clemson was 19 over par for the event, but still won the tournament by 12 shots. Clemson came back with a 19-under score at the national tournament and finished seventh. Clemson finished the year 77 under par as a team, an all-time Clemson record for a season. Clemson was under par for 10 of the 12 tournaments in 1999-00. The Ridges Intercollegiate, the first event of the year, was the only other tournament in which Clemson failed to break par as a team.

Over the last 10 events Clemson finished first three times, and had four second-place finishes. All four of those second-place finishes were high profile fields that included at least eight top 20 teams. Clemson finished second at the US Collegiate April 7-9 and that 12-team field included 10 top 15 teams.

Clemson also finished with a school record for rounds in the 60s with 40. This year’s broke the school record for scoring average in a season and for under-par team score for the season. The Tigers set a school record for under par team rounds in a season. Clemson had 21 team rounds under par for the season.

Here is a list of records set by 1999-2000 Clemson team:

Byrd Named All-ACC for Fourth Straight Year Clemson senior Jonathan Byrd was chosen first-team All-ACC in 2000, the fourth straight year he has been named first-team All-ACC. Byrd became the first Clemson player and sixth player in ACC history to be named first-team four times. The other players who have accomplished this feat are Gary Hallberg of Wake Forest (1977-80), Robert Wrenn of Wake Forest (1978-81), Billy Andrade of Wake Forest (1983-86), David Duval of Georgia Tech (1990-93) and classmate Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech (1997-00).

Byrd is also just the 14th athlete in Clemson history to be four-time first-team All-ACC in any sport, the third in the last decade.

Joining Byrd on the first team were teammates John Engler, Lucas Glover and D.J. Trahan. It was the second time on the team for both Engler and Glover, the first for Trahan. Trahan became just the second freshman in Clemson history to earn first-team All-ACC honors, joining Byrd on that short list. He also won ACC Rookie of the Year, the first Tiger in history to win that award.

Clemson’s Four-time First-team All-ACC Selections

Penley Has won 45 Tournaments Clemson has won 45 tournaments under Head Coach Larry Penley, including three in 1999-00. The Tigers won the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in Birmingham in the fall and the ACC Tournament in the Spring. Clemson added the NCAA East Regional May 18-20. That was Penley’s fourth NCAA East Regional title, more than any other coach. Clemson also had four second-place finishes this year. This marks the first time Clemson has won the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Regional Tournament in the same year.

Penley has taken Clemson to the NCAA tournament every year he has been the coach of the Tigers, now 17 in a row dating to 1984, his rookie season. In fact, he has taken Clemson to the championship round every year. Only one other Division I coach, Mike Holder at Oklahoma State, can also make that claim.

Clemson Made Every National tournament in the 1990s Clemson has now been to the NCAA national tournament 19 straight years, 17 under Larry Penley. Obviously, that means Clemson was at every national tournament in the 1990s. Among those seven schools, Clemson had the fifth highest average finish. Arizona State had an average finish of 4.1, while Oklahoma State was second with a 4.5 average finish.

Florida, who did not qualify for this year’s national tournament, was third at 8.3 and UNLV was fourth at 9.1 Clemson’s average finish in the 1990s was 9.7, followed by North Carolina, 12.6 and Arizona, 14.0.

Clemson vs. All-Competition in 1999-00 Clemson competed against 56 different schools in 12 tournaments in 1999-00. Only two schools, Georgia Tech (3-6), and Texas (1-3), had a winning record against Clemson. Only two schools, Georgia Tech (+30) and Oklahoma (+10) had a winning stroke margin against the Tigers. Clemson finished with an overall record of 156-26-3 against its 56 competitors, a .850 winning percentage.

Clemson played a very challenging schedule with an average of eight top 20 teams in each of the fields this year. Clemson was 103-24-2 against the other teams in the 2000 NCAA National Tournament. Only four of 67 opponents had a winning record against Clemson in 1998-99.

Byrd Sets Career Record for Under-Par Rounds Jonathan Byrd became Clemson’s all-time career leader in under-par rounds when he had three straight under-par scores at the Chris Schenkel Invitational March 25-26. Byrd’s second under-par round of the tourney, a one-under 71 in the second round on Saturday, was his 54th as a Clemson Tiger, breaking the mark of 53 held by Kevin Johnson between 1985-89.

Byrd had three more at the US Collegiate, giving him a streak of seven straight under-par rounds. A second round 69 at the NCAA Tournament was his 61st round under par in his career. He achieved all those under par rounds in 51 career tournaments and 155 total rounds. Byrd also set the Clemson record for rounds at par or better with 75. He also tied the Clemson record for rounds in the 60s with 30. Chris Patton also had 30 between 1987-90.

Clemson Career Leaders Rounds Under Par

Clemson Career Leaders in Rounds at Par or better

Trahan National Player of the Month

Princeton, N.J. – Clemson University freshman D.J. Trahan (Inman, South Carolina) was named the Rolex College Golfers of the Month for March.

Trahan won the Las Vegas Intercollegiate, his first Rolex Collegiate Tour victory of the season, after a playoff with Matt Brost of Texas. Trahan fired a nine-under par 207 (73-68-66) while helping to lead Clemson to a sixth-place finish.

Trahan, who was named the Golf World Collegiate Player of the Week for the week of March 17th, also tied for 18th place at the Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational, where he shot 72-70-73 (215, -1) while helping the Tigers to a second place finish. Ranked No. 19 in the latest edition of the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, Trahan finished the month with a stroke average of 70.33 (six rounds).

Trahan was also be featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd section on April 17th. The Rolex College Golfer of the Month award is voted on by members of the College Golf Foundation’s Golfer of the Month Committee. The award is based primarily on results from Rolex Collegiate Tour events, plus conference championships, NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championships. Each winner will receive a certificate from the College Golf Foundation in recognition of this honor.

Trahan set a Clemson record for freshman scoring average with a 72.48 average. The son of a professional golfer, Trahan was named a first-team freshman All-American and an honorable mention All-American. His nine rounds in the 60s were fifth best in Clemson history for a single season.

Glover Had Sensational Fall of 1999 Lucas Glover had the greatest fall season in Clemson history when he had a 70.20 scoring average for 15 rounds in five tournaments this past fall. Glover was 24-under-par for the five tournaments, the best combined score vs. par in a fall season in the sports history. Glover had 10 under par rounds and two more at par.

The native of Greenville, who is a two-time defending South Carolina Amateur Champion, had four straight top six finishes to end the fall, including a second-place at the Golf World at Palmetto Dunes. He was an incredible 11-under-par for the 54 holes, and the 205 score tied a Clemson record for lowest 54-hole score in a team event. He was under par for his last seven rounds and shot par of better in each of his last 12 rounds of the fall.

The fantastic fall elevated Glover to a number-six national ranking in the Sagarin individual rankings entering the spring season. He is also now 18th on the world wide US Amateur list according to Golfweek.

Current Tigers Rank one-two-three Clemson golfers John Engler, Lucas Glover and Jonathan Byrd, all members of the 1999-00 team, rank 1-2-3 in Clemson history in career stroke average. The latest figures that include this academic year show Engler ranked first with a 72.10 career average. Glover is second with a 72.25 figure, while Byrd is fourth at 72.48.

Clemson Career Stroke Average Leaders (Minimum 45 rounds Played)

Current Tigers Three of Top Four in History It is easy to see why Clemson had an outstanding 1999-00 season. Three of those Tigers were under 71.5 for the year and their stroke averages all ranked in the top four in school history for a single season. Lucas Glover’s 71.24 average broke Charles Warren’s record of 71.28, while John Engler’s 71.33 was third.

Clemson Single Season Stroke Average Leaders

Glover and Engler Close Statistically John Engler and Lucas Glover could not be closer in terms of their statistics this year and over their careers. For their careers they rank one-two on the Clemson stroke average list and their career stroke averages are just 0.15 apart (72.10 to 72.25). For the first 11 rounds of the spring they had the exact same stroke total. Engler and Glover really play different styles, but the results are just about the same. Engler is a more conservative left-hander who is deliberate in his play. Glover is an aggressive right handed player who is one of the quickest players in college. He takes an average of just seven seconds over his shots.

Here is a comparison of career stats that show how close the juniors have been:

Four Tigers Golfers Earn All-America Honors

Clemson, SC – Four Clemson golfers, one at each level of the selection process, earned All-America honors according to the Golf Coaches Association. The announcement was made Monday by the Golf Coaches Association.

It marked the first time since 1993 that Clemson has had as many as four golf All-Americans in the same year. Clemson had five that season. The Tiger program now has had 36 All-Americans under Larry Penley, who took over the Clemson program in 1984.

Leading the way was Lucas Glover, who was chosen first-team All-American. The junior from Greenville, SC set a Clemson record for stroke average in a season with a 71.24 figure this year. He had a team best seven top 10 finishes, including four straight top 10s in the fall. Glover was also named first-team All-ACC this year and was an honorable mention All-American in 1998-99.

John Engler was named to a second team All-American. The junior from Augusta, GA finished the season with a 71.33 stroke average, third best in Clemson history. He shot a four-under-par 284 at the 2,000 NCAAs to finish 24th. Engler set a Clemson record this year for rounds at 75 or better with 38 and his 21 under-par rounds ranked second-best in Clemson history.

Senior Jonathan Byrd was named third-team All-American by the coaches organization. It was the third time Byrd earned All-America honors in his career. The native of Columbia, SC was an honorable mention choice as a sophomore and a first team selection last year. Byrd finished his career as Clemson’s all-time leader in rounds under par (61), rounds at par or better (75), rounds at 75 or better (129) and was tied for first in rounds in the 60s. He had a 71.57 stroke average this year, fourth best in Clemson history.

Freshman D.J. Trahan was chosen to two All-America teams on Monday. The native of Inman, SC was named to the Freshman All-American team and was an honorable mention All-American. Trahan was Clemson’s top performer at the NCAA Tournament with a six under par 282. Trahan was named ACC Rookie of the Year this season and his 72.48 stroke average was the lowest in Clemson history for a freshman. He also established a Clemson record for rounds in the 60s by a freshman.

Clemson Finishes Seventh at NCAA Golf

Opelika, AL-All five Clemson golfers shot par or better, leading Clemson to a 278 team score and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA men’s golf championships at Grand National Country Club in Opelika, AL. It marked the fourth straight top 10 finish for the Tiger men’s golf program, the first Clemson program to record four straight top 10 national finishes in 16 years.

The last Clemson program to finish in the top 10 at least four straight years was the men’s and women’s cross country programs, which had four straight top 10s from 1980-84. The seventh-place finish was the seventh top 10 finish in the last 12 years for Clemson under Head Coach Larry Penley.

Clemson senior Jonathan Byrd finished his Clemson career on Saturday. Byrd, an academic and on course All-American in 1998-99, finished his career with an even par 72, his 75th round at par or better, a Clemson record. Byrd fittingly birdied the last hole of his Clemson career. He was a starter on four straight top 10 teams, the first Clemson athlete in 21 years to make that claim

Clemson finished 19-under-par for the tournament, the second best score versus par in Clemson history for an NCAA Tournament. The only national tournament score by Clemson that is better is the 31 under par by the 1998 Clemson team in Albuquerque, NM.

John Engler was Clemson’s top performer on Saturday with a four-under-par 68. He birdied three of the last five holes, including a 10-foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole. He birdied the 14th hole all four days. He finished 24th for the entire tournament.

The native of Augusta, GA ended the event four under par, Clemson’s second best performer for the event. Engler was outstanding throughout, shooting a 35 on the front and a 33 on the back. He was under par on the back nine for the entire tournament. Like Jonathan Byrd, Engler birdied the final hole. Engler finished the year with a 71.33 stroke average, third best in Clemson history.

D.J. Trahan had a 69 on Saturday and finished six-under par, 282 for the tournament. That was the best performance ever by a Clemson freshman. The native of Inman, SC finished tied for 15th at the tournament, earning honorable mention All-America honors.

Trahan finished the year with a 72.48 stroke average, best in Clemson history for a freshman. Trahan turned in 32 on the front nine, four under par. He shot one over par 37 on the back, but he still shot 69, giving him three under par rounds for the event. He ended the year with nine rounds in the 60s, a Clemson record for a freshman.

Lucas Glover shot a 70 on Saturday and broke the Clemson single season scoring record with two total strokes to spare. He finished the year with a 71.24 scoring average, just ahead of Charles Warren’s record of 71.28 in 1997-98. Close behind was Engler, who finished the year at 71.30.

Jani Saari, Clemson’s number five player, shot a 71 on Saturday, his second straight under par round of the tournament. He had just two under par rounds all year heading into the national event. Saari shot 35on the front and 36 on the back in registering another consistent round. His score has now counted toward Clemson’s team score seven of his eight career NCAA Tournament rounds. The native of Greenville, SC had five birdies on Saturday, including three in a row on 14, 15 and 16.

Clemson started the day playing its best golf of the tournament. The Tigers were eight under par at the turn, their best performance of the tournament on the front nine. Clemson improved to 12-under par for the day through 12 holes and 21 under for the event, fifth place, but that was as close as Clemson could get. They finished 10 under for the day, tied for the second best NCAA Tournament round in Clemson history.

Clemson struggled at the unlucky 13th hole again on Saturday. Clemson had to count two double bogeys on that hole and the Tigers finished 13 over par for that one hole for the tournament. Clemson would have been in the hunt for the national championship had they played that hole at even par all week.

“The last 36 holes we played for pride,” said Head Coach Larry Penley. “I was very proud of the way the guys finished the tournament. We came out this morning trying to make the top five, but the way Houston played we would have had to be incredible to accomplish that.

“The secret to our success all year has been the big three (Glover, Byrd, Engler) and a combination of Saari and Trahan. That was evident thelast two days. I couldn’t be more happy with the way Jani played, he was phenominal. Lucas had a great tournament to recover from his first nine holes (44). I know Jonathan is disappointed, but I could not be more proud of him. He has been our rock for the last three years.”

Byrd Named Academic All-American

Clemson, SC – Clemson golfer Jonathan Byrd has been chosen first-team Academic All-America team according to COSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America. This is the second consecutive year the native of Columbia, SC has been named first-team Academic All-American.

Last week, Byrd was named a third-team All-American on the course. This is the second year that Byrd has been named an All-American on the course and in the classroom. Byrd finished the year with a 71.57 stroke average, fourth best in Clemson history for a season. He had 24 rounds at par or better, including a 69 at the NCAA Tournament in the second rounds, helping Clemson to a seventh place finish.

Byrd was a starter on each of the last four Clemson golf teams, all teams that finished in the top 10 in the nation. He is the first Clemson athlete since the late 1970s to start on four top 10 teams.

Byrd finished his Clemson career as the school’s all-time leader in rounds at par or better and under par rounds. He also is the all-time leader in rounds at 75 or better and tied the school record for rounds in the 60s. He has a 72.48 career stroke average, third best in Clemson history.

The junior has a 3.6 grade point average in marketing and will earn his degree in August. Byrd is the seventh athlete in Clemson history to be chosen All-American on the field and in the classroom in the same year, the first to do it twice.

Clemson Athletic/Academic Doubles (Clemson athletes who have been first, second or third team All-American on and off the field in the same year)

Four Clemson Players Earn First-Team All-ACC Honors

Clemson, SC – Clemson senior Jonathan Byrd earned first-team All-ACC honors, one of four Tigers on the first team, according to voting released by the Atlantic Coast Conference office on Thursday. It was the fourth straight year Byrd has been selected.Lucas Glover, John Engler and freshman D.J. Trahan were also selected to the 13-member team. Trahan also earned conference Rookie of the Year honors. It marked the first time in history that Clemson has had four first-team selections.

Byrd joined Georgia Tech senior Matt Kuchar as four-time selections, the fifth and sixth four-time selections in the history of the league. They join David Duval of Georgia Tech, Billy Andrade of Wake Forest, Robert Wrenn of Wake Forest and Gary Hallberg of Wake Forest as the only four-time selections in the history of the conference.

All four of Clemson’s first-team All-ACC selections are ranked in the top 20 in the nation according to the latest MasterCard computer rankings. Clemson is the only school in the nation with four top 20 players, a prime reason Clemson is ranked second in the nation in the team poll. Glover ranks sixth, Engler 12th, Byrd 16th and Trahan 19th in the latest MasterCard poll.

Glover and Engler both made the All-ACC team for the second time. Glover, a native of Greenville, has Clemson’s lowest scoring average at 71.00 heading into next week’s NCAA Regional at Scranton, PA. In fact, that 71.00 would be the lowest in Clemson history if the season ended today.

Engler, a junior from Augusta, GA, has a 71.33 average for the season, a mark that would be third best in Clemson history if the season ended today. Engler was Clemson’s top golfer with a 210 at the ACC Tournament in April, leading Clemson to the championship for the third time in four years.

Byrd, a senior from Columbia, SC, has a 71.40 stroke average for the year, on pace to be the fourth best average in Clemson history. With the announcement on Thursday, he becomes the 14th Clemson athlete in all sports to earn first-team All-ACC honors four times.

Trahan became just the second Clemson freshman to earn first-team All-ACC honors, joining Byrd, who made the team as a rookie in 1997. Trahan has a 71.79 stroke average for the year, on a record pace for a Tiger rookie and fifth best in school history overall. He is currently ranked 19th nationally in the MasterCard computer rankings, first nationally among freshmen and sophomores.

2000 All-ACC Men’s Golf Team

Clemson Dominated United States Palmer Cup Team

Orlando, FL – Three Clemson players, including two who helped the United States to victory last year, were named to the eight-man United States Palmer Cup team Monday. The announcement was made by the Golf Coaches Association and Palmer Cup Head Coach Ross Randall, the head coach at the University of Kansas.

Clemson All-Americans Jonathan Byrd, John Engler and Lucas Glover were all named to the squad. It was the second year in a row that Byrd and Engler were named. Last year, Byrd had a 4-0 record in his matches in the competition, leading the United States to victory.

The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup style format featuring eight of the top men’s collegiate golfers from the United States against their counterparts from Great Britain/Ireland. This year’s competition, the fourth annual, will take place August 15-16 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club-Hoylake in Hoylake, England.

Byrd, Engler and Glover are the top players on Clemson’s number-one ranked team that will begin play in the NCAA Championships on Wednesday at Grand National Golf Club in Auburn, AL. All three have international experience. Byrd and Engler were members of the Palmer Cup team last year and Byrd was also on the Walker Cup team. Glover was a member of the United States team in the US vs. Japan Cup team last year.

Joining the three Clemson players on the 2000 Palmer Cup team will be Nick Cassini of Georgia, Charles Howell of Oklahoma State, Jeff Klauk of Florida Southern and Andy Miller of BYU. The winner of the NCAA Division I championships this weekend will also be invited.

This is actually the second straight year Clemson has had three players participate in the event. Former Clemson golfer Michael Hoey played for the Great Britain/Ireland team last year.

Clemson Second and Third in Final Golf Polls Four Tigers in Final Top 25 of MasterCard

Clemson, SC – Clemson is ranked second by the final Golfweek/Sagarin poll and third by the final Mastercard College Golf Foundation Poll. Georgia Tech, Clemson’s ACC foe and runnerup to national champion Oklahoma State, finished the year first in both computer rankings. Oklahoma State was second in the Mastercard poll and third in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll.

Clemson, who finished seventh at last week’s NCAA championships, had four of the top 25 players in the nation according to the final MasterCard rankings, while the same four Clemson players were all ranked in the top 33 in the country in the final Sagarin rankings. Clemson was the only school in the nation with four of the top 25 player in the nation according to the MasterCard poll.

Lucas Glover, of Greenville, SC and Wade Hampton, High School, finished seventh in the national according to MasterCard and eighth according to the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking. Glover was named a first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association on Monday and he set a Clemson single season record for stroke average in a season (71.24).

There is a dispute over the second best Clemson player according to the rankings. MasterCard ranked John Engler ninth in the nation, while it listed Jonathan Byrd 14th. Byrd was rated 11th in the final Golfweek/Sagarin poll and Engler was 12th.

Both Engler and Byrd also were chosen to All-America teams this year. Engler, a native of Augusta, GA, was a second-team selection, while Byrd, Clemson’s only senior this year, was a third-team selection.

Byrd, Engler and Glover have all been selected to represent the United States in the Palmer Cup in August. Clemson is the only school in the nation with three members on the team.

Freshman D.J. Trahan was ranked 22nd in the final MasterCard poll and 33rd in the final Golfweek/Sagarin ranking. Trahan was Clemson’s top golfer at the NCAA Tournament with a six-under par score and his 72.48 stroke average was the best in school history for a freshman.

Final National Golf Rankings for 2000

Final Rankings of Clemson Players

MasterCard Final Top 25 Players