Clemson Finishes 7th at Ping Preview

Oct. 4, 2006

Clemson, SC-Sophomore Vince Hatfield and freshman Kyle Stanley both had rounds in the 60s on Wednesday to lead the Clemson golf team to a seventh place finish at the Ping Preview at The Golden Horseshoe in Williamsburg, VA. Clemson finished with a team score of 855, tied with Lamar.

Florida won the 15-team event on the par 70 course with a score of 834, four shots ahead of Oklahoma State. Texas A&M was third at 839, followed by UNLV (847), Georgia (848) and Arizona State (852).

Clemson was the top ACC team in the 15-team field that included 11 of the top 15 teams in the latest Coaches poll. Georgia Tech was ninth at 863 and Wake Forest was 11th at 864.

Stanley was Clemson’s top golfer for the tournament with a 212 score, two-over par. His 54 holes included 36 holes of par, best by any Clemson golfer. He was two over par for the par fours in the tournament, also a Clemson team best. The freshman from Gig Harbor, WA had rounds of 74-69-69, joining Ben Martin as the only Tigers with two rounds in the 60s for the tournament. He finished 18th overall, quite an accomplishment for a freshman in his second career tournament.

Hatfield had a 68 on Wednesday, the top round by a Clemson golfer in the tournament. His play on Wednesday was highlighted by an eagle on the 485 yard sixth hole, the only eagle of the week by a Clemson golfer and one of just nine eagles recorded by the entire field for the tournament. Hatfield had rounds of 72-73-68 in finishing 23rd with a score of 213.

Ben Martin gave Clemson three players in the top 25 individually. Florida, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M joined Clemson as the only schools with three top 25 finishers. Martin opened with rounds of 69-69, but slumped to a 75 on Wednesday to finish at 213, also 23rd place. Martin led the Clemson team in birdies for the week with 11, but only one of those came in his Wednesday round.

Tanner Ervin played solid on Wednesday with his second consecutive round of 71. He finished strong by playing two under par for his last four holes. The junior was four under par for the par fives over the 54 holes, tied for fifth in the entire field.

Sophomore David May had a 77 in the final round and finished in 66th place with a 226 score.

Clemson at Ping Preview The Golden Horseshoe, Williamsburg, VA