CLEMSON, S.C. — Jonathan Nielsen shot a two-under-par 70 on Monday to lead Clemson to a 290 team score and a ninth-place standing after 36 holes of the Watersound Invitational at Sharks Tooth Golf Club in Panama City, Florida. The 11 teams in the field will finish the 54-hole event on Tuesday. Live scoring is available on golfstat.com.
Number-one ranked Vanderbilt leads the tournament with a 552 team score through two rounds. Georgia Tech, ranked 12th in the nation, is second at 560 and 11th-ranked Florida State, the host school, is third at 565. Clemson is at seven-over-par 583, just two shots behind 16th-ranked Oklahoma State.
Clemson improved from 293 to 290 as far as it’s team score on Monday. The field stroke average improved from 73.52 to 73.03.
The field includes six of the top 20 teams, and eight of the top 40 teams in the nation according to golfstat.com. Eighteen of the top 100 players in the nation are in the 69-player field.
Nielsen is a transfer from Carson Newman who was a second-team Division II All-American last year. His round on Monday included a team best six birdies and four bogeys. He leads the Tiger team in birdies through 36 holes with nine, and stands in 44th place after two rounds with a 149 total.
Andrew Swanson is Clemson’s top player through two rounds with a one-under par score of 143, good enough for 19th place. He had a two-over-par 74 on Monday, ending his streak of four straight rounds in the 60s. He has eight birdies through the first two rounds and is among the tournament leads with a 2.88 average on par three holes.
Zack Gordon and Thomas Higgins both had rounds of one-over-par 73 on Monday. Gordon had two bogeys, one birdie and 15 pars, while Higgins had five birdies and six bogeys. Gordon is in a tie for 38th place after 36 holes with a 147 total, while Higgins is at 151, good enough for 52nd place.
Sean Curren, a sophomore from New Lenox, Illinois, had a 75 on Monday. He played the first five holes at five-over-par, then played the last five at two-under. He had an even-par 72 in the first round and is in 38th-place with a 147 total through 36 holes.
Drayton Stewart is playing the tournament as an individual and he shot a 79 on Monday after an opening round 75. He is in 59th place at 154.
