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Clemson Heads To Vegas

Clemson Heads To Vegas

March 7, 2000

Four Underclassmen in Lineup in Las Vegas Clemson will be competing the Las Vegas Intercollegiate March 10-12. The three-day, 54-hole event will be held at Desert Inn Country Club in Las Vegas, NV. It is a par 72 course that is 7193 yards in length. UNLV is the defending champion and David Gossett of Texas is the defending medalist. Clemson finished fourth at the event last year.

Head Coach Jonathan Byrd, Clemson’s senior leader, will lead the Tigers to Las Vegas, while Lucas Glover and John Engler are two returning junior All-Americans. D.J. Trahan, Clemson’s top golfer at the Rio Mar at the San Juan Shootout, will be joined in the lineup by freshman Ben Duncan, who will be playing in his third tournament.

This year’s field at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate will be 15 teams strong. The field includes #1 Georgia Tech, #2 Clemson, #4 Oklahoma State, #5 Arizona State and #6 Georgia. In all there are 10 of the top 20 teams in the nation (Mastercard poll) in the field.

Clemson’s Lineup for the Las Vegas Intercollegiate

Name Hgt Wgt Cl. Hometown Avg
Jonathan Byrd 5-9 155 Sr. Columbia, SC 72.06
Lucas Glover 6-1 180 Jr. Greenville, SC 70.50
John Engler 5-11 150 Jr. Augusta, GA 71.48
Ben Duncan 6-2 190 Fr. Traveler’s Rest, SC 74.16
D.J. Trahan 6-3 180 Fr. Inman, SC 71.92

Trahan Top Tiger in Puerto Rico Freshman D.J. Trahan fired a two-under-par 70 in the final round to lead Clemson to a fourth-place finish at the San Juan Shootout at the Rio Mar Country Club in San Juan, Puerto Rico February 27-29. Georgia Tech won the event with an 853 team score, 11-under-par, while Clemson was fourth, eight strokes back.

Northwestern was second with an 857 score, while NC State was third at 859. After Clemson’s fourth place score of 861, Georgia, the defending NCAA champion was fifth at 866.

Trahan had rounds of 68-76-70 in finishing in eighth place with a 214 score. He was seven shots behind individual champion Luke Donald of Northwestern, who had a three-stroke victory with a 207 total.

It was the second top 10 finish of the year for Trahan, who finished sixth with a 214 score at the Golfweek Preview back in September. Among the players Trahan was tied with was Georgia Tech All-American Bryce Molder. Molder was the individual leader after 36 holes, but shot a 77 on the final round.

Lucas Glover, a pair of junior All-Americans for Larry Penley’s team, had a 216 score for he event, even par. Both shot 72 on the final round and finished in a tie for 15th place.

Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd struggled on Tuesday, shooting a 78. It was his first round of the year over 74 when playing for the Tigers and his worst round in 17 regular season tournaments dating back to 1998. Still, he shot a 218 for the tournament, just two over par and he finished tied for 18th.

Junior Jani Saari fired a 224 score for the 54-hole event, including a 76 on Tuesday. Despite a 50th place finish, Saari’s score counted two of the three days.

Clemson at San Juan Shootout

D.J. Trahan 68-76-70 214 8th
Lucas Glover 71-73-72 216 15th
John Engler 73-71-72 216 15th
Jonathan Byrd 72-68-78 218 18th
Jani Saari 73-75-76 224 50th
Totals 284-287-290 861 4th

Last Year at Las Vegas Lucas Glover fired a career best six-under-par 66 to lead Clemson to a 278 team score on the final day and a fourth-place team finish at the 1999 Golf Digest Collegiate at Desert Inn Country Club in Las Vegas. The Tigers had the second lowest team round of the final day, but defending National Champion UNLV was two strokes better and won the tournament by four shots over Georgia.

UNLV had a team score of 855 to win the event, nine-under par. The host team had shot 298 on the first day, but finished with scores of 281 and 276 on the last two days over the course they play often during the season. Georgia had a 285 score on the final day, seven strokes more than the Tigers, but the team from Athens had an 859 score to finish second.

Oklahoma State, who has been to the NCAA National Tournament a record 52 consecutive years, was third at 862, one stroke better than the Tigers, who have been to the National event 17 consecutive years.

Georgia Tech finished fifth with an 870 score, the fifth consecutive tournament this year and ninth time in the last 10 over two years Clemson has beaten the second ranked Yellow Jackets. Arizona State was sixth at 878, while Texas was seventh at 879. New Mexico ranked eighth at 880, while top 10 Houston finished ninth at 882. Defending champion Virginia was 10th at 887. There were 15 teams in the field and 13 are ranked in the top 20 in the nation.

Glover showed consistent improvement over the course of the event and his 211 score for the event was fifth best overall, best among the Tigers. His 66 on Sunday tied for the best individual round of the entire tournament. John Engler made a 10-stroke improvement over his second round and finished 14th after a final round 67 and a tournament score of 217.

Jonathan Byrd had a 71 on Sunday and finished 18th with a two-over-par 218. Senior Elliot Gealy, among the leaders after the first day, had a 74 on Sunday and was 36th at 222. Freshman Michael Hoey had an 80 on Sunday and was 57th with a 230 score.

David Gossett of Texas, the number-one ranked player in the nation, won a playoff with Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech to capture medalist honors. Both Gossett and Molder shot 69 on Sunday to finish at 208.

Clemson at 1999 Golf Digest Collegiate

Lucas Glover 75-70-66 211 5th
John Engler 73-77-67 217 14th
Jonathan Byrd 75-72-71 218 18th
Elliot Gealy 72-76-74 222 36th
Michael Hoey 78-72-80 230 57th
Team 295-290-278 863 4th

Byrd Ranked 2nd in World Amateur Rankings Two Clemson golfers are ranked among the top 20 amateurs in the world based on ratings released in Golfweek through events of Feb. 27, 2000. Jonathan Byrd is ranked second with 200 points, while Lucas Glover is 18th with 95. Glover just completed a terrific fall season and has jumped ahead of Matt Kuchar in the rankings. Byrd trails only Hunder Huss of Norman, OK and the University of Oklahoma. Edward Loar is ranked third, while David Edger, Charles Howell and Aron Baddeley (Australia) are all tied for fourth.

Glover Had Sensational Fall of 1999 Lucas Glover had the greatest fall season in Clemson history when he had a 70.20 scoring average for 15 rounds in five tournaments this past fall. Glover was 24-under-par for the five tournaments, the best combined score vs. par in a fall season in the sports history. Glover had 10 under par rounds and two more at par.

The native of Greenville who is a two-time defending South Carolina Amateur Champion, had four straight top six finishes to end the fall, including a second-place at the Golf World at Palmetto Dunes. He was an incredible 11-under-par for the 54 holes, and the 205 score tied a Clemson record for lowest 54-hole score in a team event. He was under par for his last seven rounds and shot par of better in each of his last 12 rounds of the fall.

The fantastic fall elevated Glover to a number-six national ranking in the Sagarin individual rankings entering the spring season. He is also now 18th on the world wide US Amateur list according to Golfweek.

Current Tigers Rank one-two-three Current Clemson golfers Jonathan Byrd rank 1-2-3 in Clemson history in career stroke average. The latest figures that include the fall season show Engler ranked first with a 72.28 average. He posted a 71.39 figure for the fall of 1999 in has a 71.48 stroke average for this academic year over 21 rounds.

Glover, now ranked second, made the biggest jump, on the career list this year. His 70.50 average for 18 rounds had a lot to do with that. Glover now has a 72.31 stroke average for his 89 career rounds. Jonathan Byrd, the only senior on the Clemson team in 2000, has a 72.66 average after firing a 72.06 average this year. Fourth on the list is Chris Patton, who had a 72.71 average between 1986-90. Last week he won a Tear Drop Tour event in Florida.

Clemson Career Stroke Average Leaders

Rk Name Years Rds Stks Avg
1. John Engler 1997-00 95 6,687 72.28
2. Lucas Glover 1997-00 89 6,436 72.31
3. Jonathan Byrd 1996-00 136 9,9882 72.66
4. Chris Patton 1986-90 139 10,106 72.71
5. Kevin Johnson 1985-89 147 10,711 72.86
6. Charles Warren 1994-98 144 10,510 72.99
7. Nicky Goetze 1989-93 159 11,638 73.19

Clemson Number-two in MasterCard Poll Clemson is ranked number-two in the latest Mastercard poll, just behind ACC rival Georgia Tech. Clemson concluded a strong fall schedule with a first at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate and second place finishes at the Ping/Golfweek Preview and the Carpet Capital Classic. The Tigers were fourth at the San Juan Shootout, and Georgia Tech won the event and thus moved into first in the poll.

Clemson has four of the top 45 golfers in the nation according to the latest Mastercard rnakings. Jonathan Byrd is now 37th in the nation and D.J. Trahan has jumped to 45th. Trahan was Clemson’s top performer in San Juan with a 214 score.

Mastercard Poll (March 1 , 2000) 1. Georgia Tech 2. Clemson 3. Northwestern, 4. Oklahoma State, 5. Arizona State, 6. Georgia, 7. BYU, 8. Stanford, 9. Kent, 10. North Florida, 11. Houston, 12. UNLV, 13. South Carolina, 14. Fresno State, 15. Arizona, 16. Southern Cal, 17. Florida, 18. New Mexico, 19. Augusta State, 20. Washington.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings (Feb. 15, 2000) 1. Georgia Tech, 2. Clemson, 3. Oklahoma State, 4. Northwestern, 5. Georgia, 6. BYU, 7. Houston, 8. Arizona State, 9. UNLV, 10. South Carolina, 11. Kent, 12. Stanford, 13. Duke, 14. Washington, 15. New Mexico, 16. Southern Cal, 17. Arizona, 18. Virginia, 19. North Florida, 20. Augusta State

Clemson’s Byrd Named to Walker Cup Team Clemson All-America golfer Jonathan Byrd named to the United States Walker Cup team for 1999. He posted a 1-3 record for the United States team during the competition that took place at Nairn Golf Club in Nairn, Scotland. Byrd was the third Clemson golfer in history to compete in the Walker Cup. The others are Kevin Johnson (1990) and Richard Coughlan, who played on the Great Britain/Ireland team in 1997.

The selection was part of an active off-college season for Byrd. He was on Northeast Amateur and the Carolinas Amateur and finished runnerup at the Porter Cup. He was second at the South Carolina Amateur, reached the match play portion of the US Amateur and led the United States to victory in the Palmer Cup.

Byrd Leads United States to Victory Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd (Columbia, SC) won all four matches he was involved in, leading the United States to a 17.5 to 6.5 victory over the team from Great Britain/Ireland at the third annual Palmer Cup. The event, played The Honor’s Course near Chattanooga in June, matched collegiate players from the United States vs. collegiate players from Great Britain and Ireland.

Byrd, who was named first-team All-American and first-team Academic All-American, teamed with Ben Curtis to defeat Max Harris and Kyron Sullivan, 3 and 2 in best ball action on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, during alternate shot competition, Byrd teamed with Michael Morrison, an All-American at Georgia, in defeating Oliver Lindsay and Andrew White, by the same 3 and 2 score.

On Sunday, Byrd won both of his singles matches. The rising Clemson senior soundly defeated Lindsay, 6 and 4 in the morning, then defeated his Clemson teammate, Michael Hoey, 3 and 1.

Clemson had three of its 1999 team golfers in this prestigious event. Rising junior John Engler, also a first-team All-American, had a record of 1-3 in his matches. Engler, a native of Augusta, GA, joined Georgia Tech All-American Bryce Molder in defeating Hoey and Johnny Foster of Great Britain, 4 and 3. In the afternoon, Engler and Ben Curtis lost to Johnny Foster and Kyron Sullivan 1-up. It was the only match of the day that went to the 18th hole. On Sunday in singles play, Engler lost to Andrew White, 2-up, then dropped a 3 & 2 decision to NCAA champion Luke Donald (Northwestern), 3&2.

Freshman Michael Hoey was 0-4 on the weekend, but played well in his two singles matches to a pair of first-team All-Americans on Sunday. The native of Ireland lost to Byrd, 3 &1, then dropped a close 2&1 decision to Molder.

Tigers in Final Individual Rankings Three of Clemson players ranked in the top 20 of the Mastercard and Sagarin individual rankings for the 1998-99 academic year. All three return for this year. Jonathan Byrd was a consensus top 10 player according to Mastercard, Sagarin and Golfstat. John Engler made the top 10 in Mastercard and Sagarin and was 14th in Golfstat. Jani Saari, who finished 77th in Sagarin, and Michael Hoey, 53rd in Mastercard, were also top 100 college players in 1998-99.

Clemson in Final 1998-99 College Golf Rankings

Name Mastercard Sagarin Golfstat
Jonathan Byrd 6th (324.833) 7th (69.61) 7th (+1.352)
John Engler 9th (298.405) 10th (69.84) 14th (+1.677)
Lucas Glover 14th (260.698) 18th (70.37) 28th (+2.102)
Jani Saari 77th (71.67)
Michael Hoey 53rd (118.195)

Byrd Named Academic All-American Clemson golfer Jonathan Byrd chosen to the 1999 Academic All-America team according to the Golf Coaches Association of America and the College Sports Information Directors of America. Byrd was named first-team All-American for his performance on the course in June. Byrd was the only golfer in the nation in 1999 to earn first-team Academic honors and first-team All-America honors on the course.

The native of Columbia is the first Clemson golfer to earn All-America honors on the course and in the classroom in the same year since 1990 when Oswald Drawdy was named to both teams. Byrd is just the second golfer in school history to make both teams in the same year, but the first to be a first-team selection in both.

The junior has a 3.7 grade point average in marketing. He was one of nine Clemson golfers to earn selection to the Clemson academic honor roll for the spring semester of 1999. Larry Penley’s team had a 3.2 team GPA for the spring, highest semester average on record.

Byrd is the seventh athlete in Clemson history, regardless of sport, to be chosen All-American on the field and in the classroom in the same year, the first to do it in nearly a decade.

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