Saturday 04/17/2004
April 17, 2004
New London, NC – Jack Ferguson, Matt Hendrix and Stephen Poole all had rounds in the 60s to lead Clemson to a record breaking 275 team score and a seven-shot lead after two rounds of the ACC men’s golf tournament at the Old North State Club in New London, NC. Clemson has a 36-hole total of 559, seven shots better than NC State and 10 ahead of Wake Forest. The tournament concludes on Sunday with 18 holes. Clemson golfers will begin to tee off at 10:30 AM.
Clemson’s team total of 275 on Saturday broke a school record for lowest 18 hole team score at the ACC tournament. The previous best was a 276 set in 1992 when the Tigers had a -12 third round at Northgreen Country Club in Rock Mount, NC. It was also tied for the second lowest round by the Tigers this year. Clemson had a 269 score on a par 71 course at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate on October 13.
Ferguson, who has not won a tournament as a Clemson golfer, has a one shot lead over Sean Moore of Wake Forest entering the final round. Ferguson has had rounds of 69 and 67 for a 136 total. His round on Saturday included six birdies and one bogey. He had birdies on 15 and 16 coming down the stretch. Ferguson made a birdie on the 18th hole to give Clemson the ACC team championship last year at The Old North State Course. Ferguson is -5 on the par four holes so far this weekend, best in the field.
Matt Hendrix also finished strong with birdies on three of his last five holes to shoot a 68. He stands in third place at six-under-par 138 after two rounds. It was his 11th round in the 60s this year, tops on the Clemson team. Hendrix is -7 on the par five holes so far in the tournament, tied for the best performance on par five holes.
Stephen Poole, a sophomore in just his fifth career tournament, again had an outstanding round with a three-under-par 69. He might have jumpstarted the entire Clemson team when he had an eagle two on the par four second hole. He now has a two-round total of 141 and stands in seventh place.
Brian Duncan was a fourth Clemson golfer with an under-par score on Saturday. The sophomore had four birdies and three bogeys to shoot a 71. He had birdies on 14 and 15 to key his third under par round of the year. Senior Gregg Jones improved his score by three strokes over his first round, improving from a 76 to 73. Jones has 28 pars so far for his 36 holes, more than any other player, but he has just two birdies.
Clemson coach Larry Penley, who has won seven ACC Championships in his 20 years at Clemson, felt his team’s performance on the back side was the key. “It was moving day and we moved in the right direction throughout. “We played solid on the back side and that was the key to our play today.” Clemson, Wake Forest and NC State all played very well on the front side, but only the Tigers continued on the back. NC State was 10 under par on the front and played the back even. Wake Forest was six-under-par on the front, then was +8 on the back. Clemson was -6 on the front, then shot -7 on the back.
Clemson is seeking its second straight ACC Tournament title. Clemson also won the championship in 1982, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1998 and 2000.
Clemson at ACC Tournament April 17, 2004
Old North State Club New London, NC
Jack Ferguson 69 67 -8 136 1st
Matt Hendrix 70 68 -6 138 3rd
Stephen Poole 72 69 -3 141 7th
Brian Duncan 73 71 E 144 10th
Gregg Jones 76 73 +5 149 33rd
Clemson team 284 -275 559 1st
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