Clemson Golfers First After Two Rounds At Jerry Pate Invitational

Oct. 14, 2002

Clemson, SC – D.J. Trahan, Matt Hendrix and Jack Ferguson all rank in the top 10 after two rounds of the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate at the Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham, AL. The threesome has given Clemson a six-shot lead in the team race heading into Tuesday’s final round.

Clemson, ranked number-one in the nation, will be trying to record its third win of the Fall in the final round on Tuesday. Clemson earlier won the Topy Cup and the Carpet Classic, and finished second at the Ping Preview.

Clemson shot consecutive team rounds of 278, six-under-par on the par 71 course that measures 6958 yards. Clemson’s 36-hole score of 556 is six shots better than Texas. TCU stands third at 563, while UNLV and Wake Forest are just one shot behind at 564. Arizona and Georgia Tech are at 565 and Alabama, the host school, is eighth at 567. A total of 12 teams are in the field, including 10 top 20 squads.

Trahan had rounds of 66 and 70 on Monday and his 136 total is one shot off the lead held by Chris Nallen of Arizona, who had rounds of 69 and 66. Trahan is tied with Ryan Moore of UNLV. Clemson’s Matt Hendrix is just two shots off the pace after rounds of 68-69. He is tied with J.J. Wall of Texas.

Jack Ferguson had rounds of 73 and 66 on Monday and stands at three under par, good enough for ninth position.

Clemson has won this event four of the last five years, the only tournament Clemson has ever won four times in a five-year period.

Clemson had the lead after the first round with a 278 team score, six-under-par. The Tigers had a three shot lead over a resurgent UNLV team and a four-shot lead over Arizona. Trahan was tied for the individual lead after one round with a 66. It marked the fifth time in his career he has scored a 66, his career best round.

Matt Hendrix supported Trahan in the first round with a three under par 68, including a 32 on the front side. Gregg Jones fired an even-par 71 in the opening round, while Jack Ferguson added a 73.

Clemson at Jerry Pate Intercollegiate

D.J. Trahan     66      70      136     -6      2ndMatt Hendrix    68      69      137     -5      4thJack Ferguson   73      66      139     -3      9thGregg Jones     71      74      145     +3      27thBen Duncan      78      73      151     +9      51stClemson Team    278     278     556     -12     1st