Clemson, S.C.—Even though Clemson shot the same 294 score in the second round as it did in the first, the Tigers improved five places on Saturday at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in Alpharetta, Georgia. The 14-team field that includes 12 of the top 34 teams and seven of the top 25 teams in the nation face trying weather conditions that raised the average score by over two shots compared to the first round on Friday. The temperature was in the 50s all day and it rained throughout the round with wind gusts over 20 mph.
The average score for the 78-player field that includes 21 of the top 100 players in the nation rose to 75.87 on Saturday. Clemson’s 294 score in the first round was tied for 12th best, then its 294 score on Saturday was tied for third best, allowing the Tigers to improve from 12th to seventh.
After 36 holes, Duke has the team lead at 575, three shots ahead of Texas A&M, who improved four places with a four-over par score on Saturday. UCLA is third at 580 and Pepperdine, the leader after the first round, dropped to fourth with a 307 second round, 31 shots worse than its opening round.
Wake Forest, ranked fourth in the nation, is fifth at 585 and Stanford is sixth at 586. Clemson, Tennessee and North Carolina are all tied for seventh at 588. The 54-hole event concludes on Sunday. Clemson will tee off between 9 a.m. and 9:44 a.m.
Jacob Bridgeman led the way for Clemson on Saturday with an outstanding three-under par 69. The Clemson sophomore and Eddie Lai of UCLA were the only players in the field to score in the 60s as both has rounds of 69. Bridgeman, who is second in the field with 27 pars through 36 holes, had four birdies and just one bogey on Saturday. Bridgeman stands in 15th after 36 holes with a 145 score, one over par.
Turk Pettit is Clemson’s highest ranking player individually through 36 holes. The junior had a one under par 71 on Saturday after an even par 72 on Friday. The native of Auburn, Ala. is one of just 12 players under-par through two rounds. On Saturday, Pettit had five birdies and four bogeys. He played the last three holes at two under par and his nine birdies so far in the tournament are tied for first. Pettit is just four shots behind leader Wayne Paysse of Texas A&M, who is at 139 for 36 holes.
William Nottingham had his second straight 74 on Saturday and is in 32nd place at 148. He had three birdies and five bogeys on Saturday as he did a good job of avoiding big scores on holes, something many players did on Saturday.
Kyle Cottam was Clemson’s fourth counting score with an eight over par 80. Colby Patton got off to a rough start with a triple bogey on the 11th hole, his second hole of the day, and finished with an 81. His 72 in the first round tied for the best by a Tigers on Friday.
Sophomore Zack Gordon is playing as an individual and had a solid 74 on Saturday and is in 37th place at five over par entering the final round.
Live scoring is available on golfstat.com.
