Clemson in Fifth Place Entering Final Round at Isleworth-UCF Collegiate

Oct. 22, 2007

Ben Martin had a comeback even par round and joined sophomore teammates Kyle Stanley and Sam Saunders with 72 scores, leading Clemson to a 290 team score and fifth-place standing among 18 teams entering the final round of the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate at Windermere, FL.

The Tigers have a 577 team score after two rounds to rank in fifth place, 11 shots behind team leader Georgia, who had a team tournament best 275 score on Monday. Wake Forest is second at 570, Southern California is third at 571 and Oklahoma State is fourth at 573. The 18-team event that includes 10 of the top 20 teams in the nation will conclude on Tuesday at the Isleworth Country Club.

Once again Clemson struggled on the front nine and turned it around on the back nine. The Tigers were eight-over-par as a team and in 10th place after the front nine, then shot si- under-par as a team on the back. Clemson was seven over on the front nine in the first round, then played the back nine at eight under par.

Stanley is Clemson’s top player through two rounds with a 141 score, good enough for ninth place. He finished in a tie for 10th at the same event last year when Clemson was sixth as a team. On Monday, Stanley got off to a tough start and was three over par for the first six holes. But, he fought back to birdie 10, 11, 12 and 13 to get his score to one-under par. He bogeyed the 14th hole and scored pars the rest of the round.

Saunders has been playing his most consistent golf of his Clemson career and he scored another par round on Monday. He had two birdies and two bogeys to go with 14 pars and is in 15th place after two rounds with a score of one-under par 143. Saunders has now shot even par or better in four of his last five rounds.

Martin showed his ability to persevere during his Monday round. The All-ACC sophomore from Greenwood was four over par after six holes after recording back to back double bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes, respectively. But he made an eagle on the par five seventh, the played the back nine at two under par to finish with a 72. He paralleled Clemson’s comeback on Monday.

Tanner Ervin was three over on the front nine, then shot a one-under par 35 without a bogey on the back to finish at 74. Luke Hopkins was one under par after nine holes, but shot a 45 on the back to finish with an 80. His round was ruined with a nine on the par five 17th hole.