Clemson at DICK’S Challenge

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson travels to Nashville, Tenn this weekend to compete in the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup. The Nashville Sports Council and the Golf Club of Tennessee will serve as host for the three-day event that will feature a 5-hole tournament and an 18-hole match play. The 12 teams competing feature six from the ACC (Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State and Virginia) and six from the SEC (Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt). Seven of the teams in the 12-team field were ranked in the preseason top 20 by Golfweek, including Clemson at #17. The teams will play two rounds of stroke play on Friday, September 19, then one round of stroke play on Saturday. ACC teams will then be paired against SEC teams on Sunday in match play based on their finish in the stroke play tournament. Clemson finished third last year in the inaugural tournament in the stroke play when it was a 10-team event.   Clemson is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Carpet Classic in Dalton, Ga. two weeks ago. The Tigers finished with a nine-under-par team score of 855 and were just seven shots off the lead in the competitive national tournament that featured four top 10 teams. The Tigers will bring a senior, three juniors and a sophomore to Nashville this weekend. Junior Cody Proveaux will be number-one in Clemson’s lineup after he finished fourth at the Carpet Classic in the season opening tournament. The fourth-place finish was the best of his career, as was his seven-under-par score of 209. Miller Capps and Stephen Behr are the other two juniors in the lineup for the Tigers. Capps was Clemson’s top golfer on this course last year when he shot a three-under-par 210 to finish fifth individually. Capps was Clemson’s second best golfer at The Farm with a 212 score, good enough for 10th place. Behr shot an even-par 216 at the Carpet Classic, including a second-round 69 when he hit 17 of 18 greens. He has been Clemson’s leader in stroke average each of the last two years. Billy Kennerly is the only senior in the Clemson lineup.  The native of Alpharetta, Ga shot 219 in the opening tournament, including a final round 70. He did not play in this event last year. Carson Young will make his first appearance of the year this weekend. The sophomore had knee surgery over the summer and missed the first tournament. He was Clemson’s best player at the NCAA Regional to conclude last season when he finished in sixth place, the first top 10 for a Clemson freshman at an NCAA Tournament in seven years.