Clemson 7th at Halfway Point of ACC Tournament

Greensboro, N.C.—Freshman Marisa Messana played 27 holes in one-over-par and sophomore Sloan Shanahan was two-over-par for the same period, leading Clemson to a seventh-place standing halfway through the 2015 Women’s ACC Golf Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

The 11 ACC teams decided to play 27 holes on Friday and 27 on Saturday, as the weather for Sunday looks poor.  All 11 teams completed the 27 holes on Friday on the par 72 course that is 6089 yards in length.  Clemson stands in seventh place, but is just  nine shots behind second place WakeForest.

Eleventh-ranked Virginia has the team lead at nine under par through 27 holes, seven shots better than No. 12 ranked WakeForest.  No. 5 Duke is third at -1 and North Carolina is tied with FloridaState for fourth at even par.  Notre Dame is at +2 in sixth place, followed by Clemson in seventh place at +7.  Miami is eighth with a +8 score, while Louisville is ninth at +9.  N.C.State stands 10^th at +14 and Boston College, who has played outside on its home course just twice this spring, is 11^th at +29.

Clemson had a team score of 292 for the first round thanks to even par scores of 72 by Shanahan and Lauren Salazar.  The +4 team total was the second best team score vs. par this year by the Tigers, who had a +3 (291) in their second round of the year back in September at the Cougar Classic in Charleston.

All four counting scores for J.T. Horton’s team in the first round were at 74 or better, the first time the Tigers accomplished that this year.  “We have been talking about being more consistent as a team and actually set a goal for each player to shoot 74 or better before this tournament,” said Horton.

“I was pleased with our play today.  All the ladies played well and contributed.   McKenzie Talbert had a tough first round, but came right back and shot one under par for the first nine of the second round.  She had eight pars and a birdie.  

“It is great to have Sloan Shanahan back in the lineup.  She makes a difference because she takes some pressure off the other players in the lineup.”  Shanahan had played just one spring event prior to the ACC due to injury.

Messana shot a 74 in the first round, then was one-under-par for the third nine of the day.  She contributed a pair of birdies on that nine.  She stands in a tie for 20^th place entering Saturday’s play, the top player among the Lady Tigers.  She made par on 20 of her 27 holes on Friday, fourth best in the field. 

Sophomore Jessica Hoang also had a 74 in the first round and finished the day with 20 pars as well. She was three over par through 27 holes.

Salazar, Clemson’s stroke average leader entering the tournament, played the par three holes at -2 on Friday, best in the field of 55 golfers.  She finished with an even par 72 in the first round, her team best fourth round at par this year.  The sophomore from California stands at +4 for the 27 holes, good enough for 32^nd place.

A highlight of the day took place on the third nine when Talbert and Shanahan made consecutive birdies by making shots from off the seventh green, a par three hole.  Talbert chipped in from 30 feet, then Shanahan made a 20-foot putt from just off the green.  It was one of four birdies for Shanahan on the day, most among the Tigers.

Live scoring will be available on Saturday starting at 7:30 am on golfstat.com.