Clemson Finishes Seventh at Ping/Golfweek Preview

Sept. 30, 2008

Clemson, SC–Kyle Stanley and Jacob Burger had final round scores of 74 to lead Clemson to a seventh-place team finish at the Ping/Golfweek Preview at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, OH. The tournament, which was played at the site of the 2009 NCAA Championships in May, was composed of 15 teams, including eight of the top 10 squads in the nation.

Oklahoma State won the event with a nine under par team score of 843, 16 shots better than runner-up Tennessee. Georgia was third at 861, followed by Southern Cal (867), Alabama (868) and Arizona State (870). Clemson was tied for seventh with Georgia Tech at 874. Florida State was the only other ACC team in the field and the Seminoles finished in 10th place at 34 over par 886.

All the teams struggled on the back nine relative to the front nine. Clemson was in that group, as Larry Penley’s team was one under par as a team after nine holes, but then played the back nine at 16 over for the day to finish with a 299 team score. A similar situation took place in the first round when Clemson was three under on the front nine and 13 over on the back nine.

Stanley finished fifth in the tournament with a 211 score over the three days, two under par. Stanley was in good shape to challenge for the individual title, but played the last three holes at four over par. He stood at three under par after nine holes, thanks in part to an eagle on the par five fourth hole. He was the only player in the 75-player field to make an eagle on that hole. But, Stanley shot a six-over-par 40 on the back to finish with a 74 for the day. The 75 players had an average score of 74.43 on Tuesday. Still, Stanley has a stroke average of 69.8 for the year, among the best in the nation.

David May was Clemson’s second best player for the tournament as he finished with a 217 score, four over par. He finished 17th in the field after rounds of 72-70-75. It was the second consecutive tournament that May was Clemson’s second best golfer.

Jacob Burger tied for the low round among Clemson golfers on Tuesday with a three over par 74. Burger, a freshman, improved by one shot each day. He was Clemson’s best player on the difficult back nine on Tuesday as he finished the nine holes in one over par 35. Burger finished 46th overall.

Ben Martin had a 76 on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 38th place at 223 in his first tournament of the year. Sam Saunders had a 77 on Tuesday and finished in 59th place.

Clemson at Ping/Golfweek Preview Inverness Golf Club, Toledo, OH Par 71, 7255 yards