Clemson Finishes 8th at Administraff Augusta State Invitational

April 6, 2008

Clemson, SC-Kyle Stanley shot a one-under-par 71 in the second and final round to lead Clemson to an eighth place finish at the Administaff Augusta State Invitational in Augusta, GA on Sunday. The 18-team event played at Champions Retreat was limited to just 36 holes due to inclement weather in the Augusta, GA area over the weekend. Clemson had played half of its second round on Saturday morning, then finished on Sunday morning.

Clemson improved by 14 shots from its first round 296 to its second round 282, and improved by two places in the standing. UCLA was first with a final team score of 552, followed by Georgia at 568 and East Tennessee State at 569. South Carolina was fourth at 573 and North Carolina was fifth at 575. Georgia Tech and Lamar were tied for sixth at 577, just one stroke better than the Tigers, who finished at 578. Among the 10 teams Clemson defeated in the event was 11th ranked Tennessee, who finished at 581.

Stanley had a solid second round score of 71, his second straight one-under par score, to finish with a 142 score, tied for 10th. It is his third consecutive top 10 finish and fifth top 10 this academic year. Stanley has now shot under par in six of his last seven rounds. David May and Sam Saunders were tied for 27th in the final individual standings with 36 hole scores of 145. May had rounds of 74-71, while Saunders had rounds of 72-73.

Phillip Mollica was Clemson’s most improved golfer in the second round over the first round. The junior from Anderson had a 79 in the first round to tie for the worst score among Clemson golfers. But, he came back with a four-under par 68 in the second round to record Clemson’s best individual round by three shots. He improved from 79th to 47th after the second round. It was Mollica’s fifth round in the 60s this spring, best on the team. He had four birdies and no bogeys in the second round.

Senior Zack Siefert also showed great improvement in the second round. After an opening 79, Siefert shot an even par 72 in the second round and finished at 151, good enough for 69th place.

Clemson will not compete again until the ACC Championship, which will be played at The Old North State Club in Uwharrie Point, NC April 18-20.