Clemson in Third Place after First Round of Puerto Rico Classic

Feb. 21, 2010

Clemson, SC-Luke Hopkins, Ben Martin and Corbin Mills all posted under par rounds to lead Clemson to a season best 281 score and a third-place standing in the 15-team Puerto Rico Classic on Sunday. The 54-hole event being played at the River Course at Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, will continue on Monday. The final round on the par 72 course will be played Tuesday.

Oklahoma State, the number-one ranked team in the nation according to the Sagarin computer rankings, is in first place at 13 under par 275. Texas, ranked 10th in the nation entering the tournament, is in second place at 277. The Tigers are third at 281, followed by East Tennessee State at 284 and Georgia Tech at 285.

Hopkins had his best round of the year with a three-under par 69. He had a 36 on the front nine, then posted a 33 on the back and is in a tie for sixth place after the first round. Kevin Tway of Oklahoma State is the individual leader after an opening round of 65.

Martin, who was a finalist at the 2009 United States Amateur, had a solid round of 70 on Sunday and is in a tie for 14th place with teammate Corbin Mills. Martin had a 33 on the back, while Mills had a 32 on the front nine. Hopkins and Mills both had six birdies to rank in a tie for third best among the 75 players in the field.

Sophomore Jacob Burger was Mr. Par on Sunday. He had 16 pars in his round, two more than any other player in the field to go with one birdie and one bogey. He had an even par 72 with nine-hole scores of 72-72.

Freshman Crawford Reeves shot an 80 and his score did not count towards the Clemson team score.