Clemson Players Past And Present Compete In Walker Cup This Weekend

Aug. 9, 2001

Clemson, SC – Three golfers with Clemson ties will compete in the Walker Cup this weekend at Sea Island, GA. Former Clemson All-American Lucas Glover, current All-American D.J. Trahan, and former Tiger Michael Hoey all will be competing in the event that features the top amateur players in the United States against the top amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland.

The 38th Walker Cup Matches will take place on the Rees Jones designed Ocean Forest Golf Club. The par 72 course that was opened in 1995 will play to 7113 yards. The competition will take place on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, foursome matches will begin at 7:30 AM, then singles match play will start at 12:30 PM. Sunday will feature foursomes play at 8:00 AM and singles competition at 1:00 PM.

Glover was a two-time first-team All-American at Clemson in 2000 and 2001. He was an honorable mention selection in 1999. The native of Greenville, SC and graduate of Wade Hampton High School was a three-time first-team All-ACC selection. He was ranked sixth in the nation in the final MasterCard poll for 2001 and is currently the fourth ranked United States Amateur according to he GolfWeek national rankings.

Glover concluded his four years at Clemson ranked second in career stroke average with a 71.97 figure. He had a 71.18 stroke average for this past year when he joined with Trahan and classmate John Engler to lead Clemson to a #2 national finish at the NCAA Tournament in Durham. He had 19 top 10 finishes in his career, including medallist honors at three events. He is also the three-time defending South Carolina Amateur Champion.

Trahan, at 20, is the youngest member of the United States team. He is currently the sixth ranked amateur in the United States according to GolfWeek Magazine. Trahan has been Clemson’s top golfer at the NCAA national tournament each of the last two years. This past year he shot at five-under 283 score and finished seventh at the event held at Duke.

For the year, Trahan had a 72.48 stroke average for 11 events. He won the 2000 United States Public Links tournament, which led to an invitation to the 2001 Masters. He won the Jones Cup in February, one of the top amateur tournaments in the nation, and last weekend won the South Carolina Amateur by four strokes over Glover. It ended Glover’s three-year reign as the South Carolina Amateur Champion.

Michael Hoey is a third player with ties to Clemson will be taking part in the event. Hoey, who played at Clemson as a freshman and sophomore (1998-00), won the British Amateur Championship this year and was chosen for the Great Britain/Ireland team. He also became just the second former Clemson golfer to play in the British Open.

Kevin Johnson, currently a rookie on the PGA Tour, was the first Clemson player to play on the United States Walker Cup team (1989). Richard Coughlan, also a player on the PGA Tour, was a member of the Great Britain/Ireland Walker Cup team in 1997. Jonathan Byrd, currently one of the top players on the Buy.com Tour, was a member of the 1999 United States team.

The Walker Cup is held every two years. The United States has a 31-5-1 advantage, but Great Britain/Ireland won the 1999 competition, 15-9.

Walker Cup Television Coverage Opening ceremonies and both days of competition of the 2001 Walker Cup will be aired on national cable outlets this weekend. The Golf Channel will show the opening ceremonies of the Walker Cup from Ocean Forest Golf club in Sea Island, GA on Friday at 6:30 PM.

ESPN and ESPN-2 will provide live coverage of the event on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12th. ESPN-2 will begin the coverage on Saturday morning at 10:30 AM with coverage of the foursomes competition. ESPN will follow that afternoon with coverage of the singles matches at 3:00 PM. Sunday, ESPN will show the concluding afternoon singles match play competition beginning at 4:00 PM.

Three players with Clemson ties will be taking part in the 2001 Walker Cup. The United States team includes former Clemson All-American Lucas Glover and rising junior All-American D.J. Trahan. The Great Britain/Ireland team includes former Tiger, Michael Hoey, the reigning British Amateur Champion.