Clemson Men’s Golf Steals ACC Tournament Crown

April 23, 2000

BADIN LAKE, N.C. — Jonathan Byrd, D.J. Trahan and John Engler all had rounds in the 60s on Sunday, leading second-ranked Clemson to the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. It was Clemson’s third ACC Tournament championship in the last four years and sixth since 1987, all under Head Coach Larry Penley.

It was the second ACC Tournament Championship for Clemson sports teams this weekend. The men’s track team won the ACC title at Durham, NC on Saturday.

Clemson trailed NC State by four strokes and number-one ranked Georgia Tech by three shots heading into the last round. But the Tigers fired a team tournament best 278 to win the event by five shots. The 856 team score and eight-under-par score was the third lowest by the Tigers in their 47-year ACC Tournament in history. It marked the eighth straight tournament in 1999-00 that Clemson has been under-par as a team, an all-time Clemson record.

Jonathan Byrd was Clemson’s top player on Sunday, the final ACC Tournament for the Tigers senior All-American. The native of Columbia shot a five-under-par 67, his lowest ACC tournament score as a Clemson player. Byrd, whose 74 on Saturday did not count towards Clemson’s team score, finished in a tie for fourth at the event, his best finish ever at the ACC Tournament. It marked the fourth straight year he finished in the top 10 at the ACC Tournament.

D.J. Trahan, the only freshman in the Clemson lineup, shot a 68 on Sunday and finished at 213 for the 54 holes, tied for fourth with Byrd and Georgia Tech All-American Matt Kuchar. Trahan improved by exactly three strokes each day of the tournament.

Clemson’s top finisher for the tournament was Augusta, GA native John Engler. The Tiger junior All-American shot a 69 on Sunday and finished at 210, good enough for a tie for second place with Carl Petterson of NC State. Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech won the tournament with a 206 score. Engler has now finished in the top five at the ACC Tournament each of his three years as a Tiger.

Jani Saari, a junior from Greenville, shot a 74 on Sunday and finished 19th at 221, five over par. However, the consistent player’s score counted all three days towards Clemson’s team score. Lucas Glover, Clemson’s low stroke average player for the year heading into the event, struggled on Sunday and shot a 77. He finished 26th with a 224 score.

Clemson will now break for semester exams and next be in action May 19-21 at the NCAA East Regional at Scranton, PA.

 Fin Team                  Scores   1 Clemson University    290  288  278    856    -8   2 Georgia Tech          287  288  286    861    -3   3 North Carolina State  284  290  288    862    -2   4 Wake Forest Univ.     294  290  291    875   +11   5 North Carolina, U of  295  289  297    881   +17   6 Duke University       296  293  294    883   +19   7 Virginia, U. of       300  298  293    891   +27   8 Maryland, U. of       295  302  295    892   +28   9 Florida State Univ.   305  303  303    911   +47

Fin Name School Scores 1 Bryce Molder Ga. Tech 72 67 67 206 -10 2 Carl Pettersson NC State 70 71 69 210 -6 John Engler Clemson 70 71 69 210 -6 4 Jonathan Byrd Clemson 72 74 67 213 -3 Matt Kuchar Ga. Tech 71 73 69 213 -3 D.J. Trahan Clemson 74 71 68 213 -3 7 Chris Mundorf NC State 71 72 71 214 -2 8 Max Harris N Carolina 74 69 73 216 E Jay Morgan Wk. Forest 72 69 75 216 E 10 Keith Unikel Maryland 71 75 71 217 +1 Cameron Yancey Virginia 75 70 72 217 +1 Brad Hyler N Carolina 71 70 76 217 +1 13 Troy Matteson Ga. Tech 72 73 73 218 +2 14 Brent Wanner Wk. Forest 74 73 72 219 +3 Leif Olson Duke 74 73 72 219 +3 Steve Marino Virginia 72 76 71 219 +3 Paul Tucker Duke 74 74 71 219 +3 18 David Sanchez NC State 71 76 73 220 +4 19 Mark Donaldson Florida St 74 73 74 221 +5 Buck Williams Wk. Forest 79 71 71 221 +5 Jani Saari Clemson 74 73 74 221 +5 22 Gary Mankulish Maryland 75 73 74 222 +6 Marc Turnesa NC State 72 75 75 222 +6 Mark Tullo NC State 72 72 78 222 +6 Whitten Meares N Carolina 74 74 74 222 +6 26 Matt Krauss Duke 74 72 78 224 +8 Lucas Glover Clemson 74 73 77 224 +8 Kevin Streelman Duke 75 74 75 224 +8 29 James Driscoll Virginia 74 78 73 225 +9 Chris Yoder Wk. Forest 75 77 73 225 +9 31 Rob Simmons N Carolina 76 76 74 226 +10 John Moheyer Maryland 74 76 76 226 +10 Chad Wilfong Wk. Forest 73 77 76 226 +10 Matt Weibring Ga. Tech 72 75 79 226 +10 35 Jason Lopez Florida St 76 77 74 227 +11 Corey Brigham Maryland 75 78 74 227 +11 Bradley Lusenhop Florida St 79 73 75 227 +11 38 Mike Christensen Duke 74 79 76 229 +13 39 Justin Goodhue Virginia 79 76 77 232 +16 40 Carlton Forrester Ga. Tech 77 79 77 233 +17 41 Paul Daniel N Carolina 77 81 77 235 +19 42 Dan MacDonald Maryland 80 82 77 239 +23 43 Kris Hannah Florida St 81 80 80 241 +25 Ryan Felty Florida St 76 85 80 241 +25 45 Mike Mitchell Virginia 86 76 81 243 +27