Clemson, SC—Andrew Swanson shot a three-under-par 67 on Tuesday to lead Clemson to a tie for fourth place at the 12-team 54-hole Wake Forest Invitational at famed Pinehurst #2. The Tigers finished with a three-day score of 858, 18-over-par, the same score Clemson shot two years ago when Jordan Byrd’s team won the tournament.
Auburn won this year with an 852 score, while East Tennessee State was second at 853 and host Wake Forest was third at 857. Clemson tied with Duke for fourth place at 858 and Northwestern was sixth at 862.
It was a solid performance for the Tigers, who had the team lead after the first round at 284, four over par on the par 70 course that will be the site of the 2024 United States Open. Clemson shot 290 in the second round and 284 in Tuesday’s final round. Clemson played the par five holes well, as the team was a combined 10-under on those holes, best in the field.
Swanson’s 67 on Tuesday was the best round among the 66 players in the field. He finished strong with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, the only player in the field to do that on Tuesday. He finished his round with five birdies, most by a Tiger in a round this week. It was his second lowest round of the year. Swanson finished sixth for the tournament with a scored of three-over-par 213, his fifth career top 10.
Mats Ege of East Tennessee State and Jackson Koivun of Auburn tied for medalist honors with scores of 209, the only two players in the field to score under par for the three rounds.
Alberto Dominguez was Clemson’s second best player for the tournament with a 214 total after consistent rounds of 72-70-72 to finish in 13th place. He led the Tigers in par three scoring with a 2.75 average.
Jonathan Nielsen, Clemson’s leader in stroke average entering the tournament, had rounds of 70-73-73 to finish in 18th place with a 216 total. He finished strong on Tuesday playing the last five holes in one-under-par. He and Swanson led Clemson for the week with eight birdies apiece.
Kian Rose finished in 34th place with a 220 score after rounds of 71-75-74. He averaged 4.50 on par five holes for the week, tied for the best on the Clemson team with Swanson. Sophomore Thomas Higgins shot a 222 for the week, to finish in 44th place.
A highlight for Clemson was the play of freshman Will Baker, who played the event as an individual and finished 38th. He shot 72-70 for the last two rounds, tied for the best among Clemson golfer.
Clemson returns to the course at the Linger Longer Invitational in Eatonton, Georgia on March 17-19.
