Clemson in Seventh Place After First Round of Preview

Sept. 28, 2008

Clemson, SC — Kyle Stanley shot at two-under par 69 to lead Clemson to a 294 team score and a seventh-place standing out of 15 teams after the first round of the Ping/Golfweek Preview Sunday. The event is being held at The Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, OH. It is also the site of the NCAA Championships, which will be held in May.

Clemson made quite a comeback on Sunday. The Tigers found themselves in 14th place at 13-over-par after nine holes. The Tigers played the back nine first, then shot three-under par on the front nine to get back into contention. Oklahoma State holds the lead at two-under-par, while Tennessee is second at event par 284. Southern California is at 286 and stands in third place.

Clemson had the best team round of the ACC schools in the field. Georgia Tech is ninth at 296 and Florida State is 12th at 299. At one point Florida State had an 11 shot lead over the Tigers.

Stanley also got off to a slow start, as he made a double bogey on the 12th hole. But, he played the final 15 holes at four-under-par to finish with the 69. He is in fifth place, three shots behind leader Jamie Lovemark of Southern California. Stanley made birdies on three of his last five holes and had five birdies of the day.

David May was Clemson’s second best golfer with a consistent 72. And he stands in 18th place after one round. May was one-over-par on the front side and played the back nine at even par 34. Jacob Burger had a 76 on Sunday, five-over-par. That was quite an accomplishment also because the freshman was six-over after seven holes, but played the last 11 at one under.

Ben Martin also had a strong comeback to shoot a six-over-par 77. Martin was eight-over-par over his first seven holes, then played the last 11 holes at two under. Sam Saunders had a nine over par 80, but he also played well on the front nine, his last nine of the day. He was nine-over-par on the back nine and played the front nine at even par.

The Tigers will play the second round on Monday morning. Results are available at www.golfstat.com.