Aiken, S.C.—Jacob Bridgeman, Turk Pettit and William Nottingham all posted consecutive rounds in the 60s on Monday to lead Clemson to a 17-under-par 36-hole team score of 543 over two rounds of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational at the Palmetto Club in Aiken, SC.
Larry Penley’s Tigers have a two-shot lead over ACC rival Virginia entering Tuesday morning’s final round on the par 70 course. The 15-team field includes eight teams from the state of South Carolina.
Clemson had 42 birdies as a team, one more than second place Virginia. Clemson led the field in scoring on par three and par four holes, while Virginia led the field in par five scoring.
Clemson had a 13-under-par team score of 267 in the first round, the second lowest team round of the year. In the fall Clemson had a 15-under-par 265 at the Maui Jim. Clemson had a 10-shot lead at one point in the second round on Monday, but Virginia closed fast to trail by just two entering Tuesday.
Bridgeman and Pettit are tied for first after two rounds with scores of 133, seven under-par. Both Clemson players had 11 birdies over the two rounds.
Bridgeman posted rounds of 67 and 66 on Monday, while Pettit had rounds of 64 and 69. Bridgeman played the par four holes in seven under-par over the two rounds, five shots better than any other player in the 75-player field. Bridgeman now has nine rounds in the 60s this year, best on the Clemson team.
Pettit’s 64 was the best round of the day by any competitor. He had six birdies and no bogeys in registering his second best round of the year. He now has 25 rounds in the 60s over his three-year career.
Nottingham, the only Clemson senior in the lineup, had consecutive rounds of one-under-par 69. It is the first time he has scored in the 60s in the first two rounds of a tournament since the Maui Jim Invitational back in September. His performance on Monday gives him 14 career rounds in the 60s and he stands in a tie for sixth place entering Tuesday.
Contributing to that fine first round was Kyle Cottam, who had a three-under par 67. That tied for his low round of the year. He had a 74 in the afternoon and his 141 total is still a top 10 figure (9th).
Sophomore Zack Gordon had rounds of 70 and 72 on Monday and stands in a tie for 16th at 142.
Clemson and Virginia have played in the same tournament twice so far this year. Clemson has a 44-stroke advantage for the first two events.
The 15 teams will all start in a shot-gun format on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com.
