Clemson Golf Program Signs Three

May 26, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson Head Coach Larry Penley has announced the signing of three student-athletes to National letters of intent. Stephen Behr (Florence, SC), Billy Kennerly (Alpharetta, GA) and Hayden Garrett (Easley, SC) will join the Clemson team in August.

Clemson is the only school in the nation with two signees ranked among the top 15 in the nation in the Polo Junior Amateur rankings.

“This is a very good class that will help us right away,” said Penley. “They have national experience and that is important. They are used to competing against the best before they get here and that will allow them to compete for play in our lineup very quickly. Two of the three have played in the Canon Cup and been AJGA All-Americans.

“As far as their games are concerned, they are excellent putters. They aren’t long hitters, but play a precise game. They rely on their short game. We have been beaten by these types of players recently.

Behr is ranked as the 12th best player in the class of 2011 according to the Polo rankings and is listed as the number-19 junior player in the nation by Golfweek. He was named a second-team AJGA Rolex All-American in 2010 and was a first-team HP Scholastic All-American. He had a perfect 4-0 record for the East team at the 2010 Canon Cup.

Behr won the 4A state championship as a junior and finished second by just one shot this year. He also won The Blade Junior Golf Classic, one of the top national junior tournaments, and won the South Carolina Junior Tournament with a 206 score. He reached the second round of the United States Junior Amateur last summer and also had third-place finishes at the Verizon Junior Heritage and the Bobby Chapman Invitational.

Kennerly was also an honorable mention AJGA All-American in 2009 and 2010, is ranked 12th in the nation by the Polo rankings, and is 21th in the class of 2011 by Golfweek Junior rankings. Kennerly posted a 2-1-1 record at the Canon Cup for the East team in 2009.

Kennerly has 13 career top 10 finishes in AJGA tournaments, including a second place at the Exide Technologies Junior Open, the Mountain Top Collegiate Invitational and the Accusport Championship in 2010 when he shot a final round 66. Garrett has ranked as high as third in the South Carolina Heritage Junior rankings during his career at Easley High.

He won the Upstate Junior Classic in 2010 and also had second-place finishes at the George Holliday, the SCJA Junior Championship and the CGA South Carolina Match Play Championship. He finished sixth at the CGA Junior Championship.

Garrett comes from an athletic family. He is the grandson of Jimmy Satterfield, who coached Furman to the Division I-AA National Football Championship in 1988.