Clemson, SC—Clemson will travel to Hawaii to conclude its fall slate October 28-30 in the eighth annual Ka’anapali Classic at Royal Ka’anapali Golf Course in Lahaina, Hawaii. It will be Clemson’s fifth trip to this tournament its first appearance since 2019. Clemson won the tournament in 2016 with an impressive 26-under-par team score.
Twenty teams will compete for the championship with the highest ranked team being 11th ranked Oklahoma, winners of the tournament in 2015 and 2019. Eight teams in the field are ranked in the top 100 in the nation, including Clemson. The ranked teams also include Georgia, Mississippi, East Tennessee State, North Florida, Liberty, Colorado and Kansas.
Also in the field are teams from Air Force, Boise State, UCONN, Denver, Gonzaga, Louisiana, Mount St. Mary’s, UC Irvine, Wyoming and CSUN. Kansas won the title last year with a record score of 52-under-par 800.
The 54-hole, three-day tournament will begin with an 8 a.m. (Hawaii time) shotgun start each day, Friday through Sunday. The track was built in 1962 and the 6700 yard layout is one of only two courses in Hawaii designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Clemson will be led by sophomore Kian Rose and junior Jonathan Nielsen who both enter the tournament with a stroke averages of 71.75. Rose leads the team in under-par rounds with five and Nielsen leads the team in rounds at 75 or better with 11.
Sophomore Andrew Swanson also will be in the lineup and has the third best stroke average on the team at 73.08. He is coming off consecutive top 15 finishes at The Blessings and the Golf Club of Georgia.
Zack Gordon has a 73.33 stroke average and also will be in the lineup in Hawaii. The super senior had a career best 63 in this tournament as a freshman in 2018. It is one of 18 rounds in the 60s in Gordon’s career. Senior Carter Pendley also returns to the lineup after playing in the first three tournaments of the year. Pendley had a final round 65 at the Maui Jim season opening tournament in Arizona.
Alberto Dominquez, a junior with a 73.33 stroke average, and freshman Justin Burrough, will play the event as individuals.
Scoring will be available at golfstat.com.
