Clemson Finishes Sixth at Bank of Tennessee at Blackthorn

Oct. 16, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Corbin Mills was Clemson’s top golfer on Sunday with a 71, and freshman Billy Kennerly was Clemson’s top golfer for the tournament, as Clemson finished sixth in the 15-team field at the Bank of Tennessee @ Blackthorn Club at Jonesborough, TN.

Kent State shot a tournament single round best 10 under par 278 on Sunday and won the tournament by seven shots over Virginia. Kent State finished with an 869 score, five over par for the 54 holes, while Virginia was second at 876, 12 over par. Clemson finished at 22 over par 886 for the weekend. Clemson struggled on the 17th hole coming in, playing the hole at five over par as a team.

The Tigers started the tournament on Friday with a 313 team score, by far the highest team score of the year. Clemson was tied for last after the first round. The Tigers then improved seven spots with a 281 score on Saturday, the best score of any team that day by five shots. Clemson finished with a 292 team score on Sunday to finish five shots ahead of Missouri.

Mills has a one-under-par 71 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 23rd in the field of 82 college golfers. Mills was coming off a championship performance at the Jerry Pate Invitational in Birmingham.

Kennerly finished in a tie for 15th in the individual race with a four over par score of 220. He had rounds of 77-69-74 for the 54 holes. Kennerly played the par five holes at four-under-par for the week and tied for the Clemson team lead in birdies with nine.

Freshman Hayden Garrett and senior McCuen Elmore finished in a tie for 30th with scores of 225. Both players struggled in the opening round with scores of 81, but both players shot 143 over the final 36 holes. Garrett had a 69 in the second round, then played the first four holes on Sunday at four-under-par.

It was the first career tournament for the freshman from Easley, SC. Garrett tied for first among Clemson golfers for the week with nine birdies and was the best in scoring on par four holes with an even par performance. He was the only Tiger to score an eagle for the week.

Elmore had a strong round of 69 in the second round and finished with a 74 on Sunday. Elmore also had nine birdies for the tournament and played the par three holes at a team best one over par.

Thomas Bradshaw had a three-day total of 230, 14 over par. He had a solid round of 73 in the second rounds, counting towards Clemson’s seven under par team round that day.