Clemson Begins Play at NCAA Championship on Friday

Clemson, S.C.–Larry Penley’s Clemson men’s golf team will begin play at the 2017 NCAA National Tournament at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois on Friday, May 26. The Tigers are seeded 11th in the 30-team field and will play with No. 10 Texas and No. 12 UNLV over the first two rounds. Clemson will begin play on Friday off the first tee at 2:22 p.m Eastern Time.   The Tigers will begin Saturday morning’s second round at 9:02 a.m. Eastern time from the 10th tee.

The 30 teams will play three rounds, Friday-Sunday at the par 72 Rich Harvest Farms Course that is 7300 yards in length. After three rounds the field will be cut to the top 15 teams and six individuals. After four rounds the individual champion will be crowned and the top eight teams will advance to match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals of match play will be completed on Tuesday, and the National Championship match will be Wednesday.

Penley’s Tigers have had an outstanding spring and have finished first or second in every tournament, a first in school history.   The Tigers won five consecutive tournaments for the first time in school history from the last tournament of the fall through the Clemson Invitational on April 15. Clemson has finished second in each of its last three tournaments. The six wins this year ties for he most in one academic year. Clemson’s 2002-03 National Championship team also won six, but three of those were in postseason play (ACC, NCAA Regional and NCAA National).

Overall, this is the 30th time Clemson has reached the NCAA National Tournament. The program won the National Championship in 2003 at Stillwater, Okla, and has been the runner-up twice, 1998 and 2001. Twelve times Clemson has finished in the top eight, the goal for this year’s team through the four rounds of stroke play.

This will be the Tigers second trip to the Rich Harvest Farms. The Tigers finished sixth of 14 teams at the NCAA Regional there in 2014. Clemson missed the cut for the national tournament by just two shots, finishing at 34 over par for the 54 holes on the difficult course that played 7151 yards, 149 yards shorter than it will play this year.

Clemson will take a lineup that includes two seniors, two freshmen and a sophomore. The seniors are Carson Young and Austin Langdale, who both played at Rich Harvest Farms as freshmen. Young finished sixth at the regional to lead the Clemson team. He was the top Clemson player in each of the three rounds.  

Freshmen Doc Redman and William Nottingham also will be in the lineup. Redman has the top stroke average on the team at 70.50, while Nottingham has finished in the top 10 in each of his last three tournaments. He set the Clemson single round scoring record at the Wolfpack Spring Open on April 14 with a nine-under-par 62. Bryson Nimmer, Clemson’s top player at the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Regional, is a sophomore who is a two-time All-ACC performer.

 Tournament: 2017 NCAA National Championship

Dates: May 26 to May 31, 2017

The Course: Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Par 72 that is 7300 yards in length. Course was opened in 1989 and designed by owner Jerry Rich.   It has been the site of the Solheim Cup, NCAA men’s regionals in 2007 and 2014, the Palmer Cup and the Western Amateur. It is capable of playing to 7,700 yards.

Course Address: Rich Harvest Farms, 2330 Granart Road, Sugar Grove, Illinois, 60554.

Tournament Format: The field for the NCAA Tournament includes 30 teams and six individuals for 156 players. All 156 will play three rounds of stroke play. Following 54 holes of stroke play competition, the top 15 teams and top nine individuals not on those teams will advance to a fourth day of stroke play. An individual champion will be crowned after the fourth round. The top eight teams will advance to Match play.

Starting Tuesday, May 30, the No. 1 team will play No. 8, No. 2 will play No. 7, No. 3 will play No. 6 and No. 4 will play No. 5.     The quarterfinals and semifinals of match play will be played on Tuesday and the National Championship match will be played on Wednesday, May 31.

Clemson Lineup (Yr, Hometown, Golfweek-Golfstat rank, Stroke Average):

Doc Redman (Fr., Raleigh, NC, 70.50), Bryson Nimmer (So., Bluffton, S.C., 70.94), Carson Young (Grad, Pendleton, S.C., 71.06), William Nottingham (Fr., Kingsport, Tenn., 72.77), Austin Langdale (Sr., Pendleton, S.C, 72.95).

Clemson Tee Times: Clemson will be paired with Texas and UNLV for the first two rounds. Clemson will start on Friday, May 26 at 2:22 p.m. Eastern time at the first tee. On Saturday, May 27, Clemson, Texas and UNLV will start from the 10th tee at 9:02 a.m. Eastern time.

The Field by Seed: 1. Southern California, 2. Oklahoma State, 3. Vanderbilt, 4. Stanford, 5. Baylor, 6. LSU, 7. Illinois, 8. Oregon, 9. Kent State, 10. Texas, 11. Clemson, 12. UNLV, 13. Oklahoma, 14. Virginia, 15. UCF, 16. Duke, 17. Auburn, 18. Mississippi, 19. Pepperdine, 20. Arizona State, 21. Florida State, 22. North Carolina, 23. Alabama, 24. Lipscomb, 25. Kennessaw State, 26. Purdue, 27. Jacksonville, 28. New Mexico, 29. Iowa State, 30. Penn State.

Last Year: Clemson finished tied for 14th after three rounds of stroke play, but did not advance to the fourth round due to a tie breaker system that takes into account the non-counting score each day. There was a for way tie for 14th.

Golf Channel Coverage:   May 29-31, 2017