2010-11 Clemson Golf Outlook

Aug. 26, 2010

A quick look to the Clemson roster reveals that the 2010-11 Tigers golf team does not have a single senior, a first for the program since 1991-92 and just the second time in Larry Penley’s 28 years as head coach.

The Tigers must replace All-American Ben Martin, and reliable senior Luke Hopkins, who helped Clemson to a strong second-place finish at the NCAA regional and a #16 finish at the national tournament.

“Ben was one of our top all-around student-athletes in many years,” said Penley, who had 60 career tournament wins. “He was a very good leader because he set a good example in terms of how to conduct yourself on and off the course. He has already played in three majors and we look forward to watching his professional career. He will be a significant loss, as will Luke, who had a consistent year as a senior.”

So, Larry Penley is in a rebuilding mode with no senior leadership, right?

“On the one hand we are young in that we don’t have any seniors. But, on the other hand, we probably have the most returning players who have played in a college tournament since I have been at Clemson. We played 10 guys over the course of last season, the most in my coaching career and eight of them are returning. And, we have a ninth (David Dannelly) who is a veteran of 16 college tournaments at the Division I level.

“We also have four juniors who have red-shirted at one time or another in their careers (Mike Soowal) and they are in their fourth years of college golf. It is time for them to step up and be leaders. They are capable of doing it.”

Penley does have some talented young players who are also capable of serving as team leaders on and off the course. Corbin Mills and Crawford Reeves are returning starters who played in nearly every event as freshmen last season, while Jacob Burger is a first-year junior who is the leader among returning players in stroke average.

“Corbin Mills and Crawford Reeves were a big part of our team last year,” continued Penley. “Corbin has a big game and has great potential. He is one of the top ball strikers in the country. He just needs to improve in his short game.

“Crawford made great improvement over the course of his freshman year. But, like a lot of freshmen, he was not as consistent as we would have liked. At times he was our best player and at times he was the non-counter. But, I think we will see consistency this year.”

“Burger is an outstanding player who just needs to get the ball in the fairway a little more often. When he does he will compete for medalist honors. Overall, he might have been our most consistent player last year. He had six straight top 20 finishes at one point, something no other player did last year. And it was during a run of tournaments against top competition.”

Penley is confident Clemson can return to the NCAA Tournament for the 28th time in his 28 years as Tigers head coach.

“I think we have a chance to be very good. How quickly we can be an outstanding team is yet to be seen. Overall, we should be a very good driving team, a very good ball striking team. The short game will be an area of emphasis in our preseason. If we can shave some strokes around the green we can have an outstanding season.”

Burger had a 72.88 stroke average last year as a sophomore, third best on the team and just 0.02 strokes per round out of second. He played in 11 of the 12 team events and had just one top 10, but a team best seven top 20s. He finished in the top 20 in every event between March and June, including an eighth-place at Furman, a 19th place at the ACC Tournament and a 17th place at the NCAA Southeast Regional.

Burger, who made the Ping All-Region team as a sophomore, had four rounds in the 60s, including a second-round 68 at the NCAA Regional, and 13 total rounds at par or better. The Orangeburg, SC native averaged 30.31 putts per round last year, best on the team among the starters, and ranked 32nd in the nation in fewest three-putt holes per round. He played well this summer, as he reached the second round of the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst and qualified for the United States Amateur where he reached a playoff for the final six spots in match play.

Mills was not far behind Burger in terms of stroke average, as he turned in a 73.06, fifth best in Clemson history for a freshman. He had a fifth-place finish at Jacksonville Invitational on the famed TPC Course, a third-place finish at Furman and a sixth-place at the Augusta State Invitational.

The native of Easley, SC had 14 rounds at par or better, including three rounds of 67 or 68, most on the team. He has a big game in that he hits his irons long distances, as he proved in the NCAA Tournament at Alpharetta, GA when he had scores of 70 in the first and third rounds. He had a 4.68 average on par five holes last year, 45th best in the nation.

Mills had the busiest schedule among active Clemson players this past summer. He finished 15th at the Monroe, 12th at the Players Amateur and 17th at the Palmetto to highlight his summer activity.

Reeves had a slow start to his freshman year, but came on strong in the spring when he improved his stoke average by nearly 1.5 shots per round. His most important performance of the year came at the NCAA Southeast Regional when he finished 13th overall, helping the Tigers to a second place finish behind number-one ranked Oklahoma State.

Reeves also finished fourth at the Furman Invitational and eighth at the Jacksonville Invitational. He had three rounds in the 60s for the year and had eight rounds at 71 or better over his last 12 rounds of the year. Reeves also had a solid summer that included a fifth place finish at the Eastern Amateur and a 17th at the Palmetto. He had eagles on consecutive holes during his final round at the Palmetto, an example of his explosiveness when he keeps the driver in the fairway.

Clemson has two starting spots up for grabs this year and there are six players on the roster who have significant college experience competing for those positions.

Coastal Carolina transfer David Dannelly actually has the most experience at the college level among those players. Dannelly was a starter on two Big South Conference Championship teams at Coastal Carolina. He was the Big South Tournament medalist as a freshman in 2008 and finished second in 2009.

He was named Big South Golfer of the Month for the Big South Conference on April 10, 2008 and had four career top 10 finishes at Coastal Carolina, three as a freshman and one as a sophomore. He had an excellent summer of 2010 that included reaching the match play of the United States Amateur after a 13th place finish (out of the 312 golfers) in stroke play.

“I am excited about David Dannelly joining our program,” said Penley. “He is going to add a big boost. He has won tournaments before and has a strong game. He is a talented player who has had a good summer. I think he fits in well.”

McCuen Elmore and Alex Boyd are two more red-shirt juniors with experience. Elmore played in two events last year and showed his capabilities with a sixth place finish at the USCA Cleveland Classic. His 211 score was the best by a Clemson player in that event by seven shots. This summer he finished fourth at the Greystone Invitational and reached the second round of the South Carolina Match Play.

Boyd played in three events last year, and had a solid 74.33 stroke average. He was a starter at the Carpet Classic, one of the top fields of the year, and finished 33rd, tied for the second best among Clemson golfers. He also contributed to Clemson’s strong fourth place finish at the Augusta State Invitational. Soowal is a junior who is yet to get into a tournament for the Tigers as the result of some injuries, but hopes to make strides in a healthy 2010.

Brewer Bradshaw is another young player with a bright future, who could see significant playing time this year. Bradshaw was in the Clemson lineup when the Tigers finished third at Jacksonville last year, and he had a strong summer of 2010. A highlight took place in June when he reached the finals of the South Carolina Match Play before losing to multiple time winner Todd White. He also finished 16th at the Carolinas Amateur. Bradshaw’s brother, Thomas, will be a freshman on the Clemson team this year.

Mike Muscatell and Will Ovenden are two red-shirt sophomores who also have a chance to contribute this year. Muscatell played as an individual at Furman last year when finished 14th with a consistent 74-75-72 performance. Ovenden finished 28th at The Brickyard, helping the Tigers to a runner-up team finish.