Clemson, SC—Sophomore Kian Rose had his best round of the spring in firing a two-under-par 70 on a day when the average score was 75.2 to lead Clemson in the first round of the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Golf Club in Eatonton, Ga. The 16-teams in the field will play the second round on Monday with the third and final round on Tuesday.
Clemson had a team score of seven-over-par 295. Alabama and Georgia are tied for first at five-under-par 283, while number-one ranked Vanderbilt is in third place at 286. Virginia is fourth at 287 and Georgia Tech is fifth at 292. Arkansas is sixth at 294, just one shot ahead of the Tigers.
Rose, Clemson’s top player in the fall, has been limited by a wrist injury in the spring, but he played well one Sunday with five birdies on is way to his 70. The native of South Africa played the par four holes in three-under-par, tied for the best in the 91-player field. Rose is in a tie for eighth place individually after the first round.
Andrew Swanson, Clemson’s leader in stroke average this year and the Tigers top player in each of the last three tournaments, had an even-par 72 on Sunday. He had three birdies and three bogeys on Sunday and is in a tie for 16th individually. He played the par four holes in one-under-par, tied for ninth best in the field.
Jonathan Nielsen was Clemson’s third best golfer on Sunday with a 75. He had three birdies, three bogeys and a triple. He played the par four holes in two-under-par, fifth best in the field.
Freshman Thomas Higgins had a wild round that included six birdies, tied for fourth in the field, but he had two triple bogeys that hurt his score, a six-over-par 78. Alberto Dominguez had 13 pars, but also had a couple of doubles and finished with a 79.
Live scoring is available on golf stat.com.
