Clemson, S.C.—Turk Pettit shot a final round 69 on Sunday and finished second individually, leading Clemson to a third-place team performance at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate at Mirabel Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Clemson shot a 54-hole score of 811, the lowest team total for a 54 hole event in Clemson history by 11 shots.
Host school Arizona State, ranked second in the nation by the Golf Coaches Association entering the tournament, won by nine shots with a score of 802. Arizona was second at 809 and the Tigers were third in the 15-team tournament at 811. The field included six of the top 20 teams in the nation. Clemson defeated the other four top 20 teams, Pepperdine (10th), Southern California (11th), LSU (15th) and Illinois (19th) by a combined 67 strokes.
Clemson’s 811 team score on the par 70 course was 11 shots better than the previous record of 822 shot at the Augusta State Invitational in 2003, Clemson’s National Championship season. The 29-under-par was tied for fifth best score vs. par in school history.
Pettit, who had a career best 18 birdies in the 54 hole event, had rounds of 66-63-69 in finishing second at 198. The 198 total tied for the second best in Clemson history. Bryson Nimmer set the record with a 195 when he won this tournament last year. Pettit’s second round 63 was the best of his career and tied for the second best individual round in school history. Cameron Sisk of Arizona State won the tournament with a 14-under-par 196.
Jacob Bridgeman also shot 69 in the final round and finished at 203 for the 54 holes, seven under par, and finished in a tie for 12th in the 75-player field. Bridgeman had 15 birdies in his performance that included an opening round 64 that was the best of his career.
Senior William Nottingham had 14 birdies on the way to a career best 205 total for the 54 holes, good enough for an 18th place finish. It was his best finish since finishing 15th at the Nike Invitational last fall. He shot par or better in all three rounds with scores of 67-68-70.
Colby Patton gave Clemson four of the top 25 finishers in the event with a 206 total, good enough for 21st place. It marked his second straight 21st place finish as he had that ranking at the Carpet Classic in Dalton, Georgia last week.
Kyle Cottam played the number-one position for the Tigers this week and finished 37th with an even par score of 210. He had rounds of 70-69-71.
Clemson finished the tournament with 63 birdies as a team, second best in the field. The team played the par four holes at 16-under-par, best among the 15 teams. Only one of the 15 Clemson individual rounds were over par.
Clemson returns to action at the Nike Elite Invitational at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon September 29th.
