Clemson Ranked #1 by Golf World

Sept. 6, 2002

Clemson, SC – Clemson is ranked number-one in the nation by the Golf World preseason college golf poll. The poll that is voted on by college coaches, lists Clemson number-one, followed by Minnesota, Florida, Arizona and Georgia Tech.

Wake Forest is listed sixth, followed by Texas, Oklahoma State, Washington and NC State. North Carolina is listed 11th, giving the ACC five of the top 11 teams in the poll.

Clemson opened its season with a victory at the Topy Cup in Japan. Clemson defeated defending NCAA Champion and second ranked Minnesota by 31 strokes at the 54-hole event. It was the 49th career victory for Clemson head coach Larry Penley.

Clemson senior D.J. Trahan was ranked as the top individual in the nation in Golf World’s individual rankings. Trahan won the Jack Nicklaus Award and the Ben Hogan Award as a junior as the top player in college golf. Four of the top 10 from the poll are from the ACC, as Georgia Tech’s Troy Matteson (5th), Wake Forest’s Bill Haas (7th) and North Carolina’s Dustin Bray (9th) are also in the top 10. Clemson junior Gregg Jones is also listed as among the top players in the country by the magazine.

The Clemson team will return to Tigertown on Saturday and will not return to tournament action until September 27-29 when Clemson competes in the Carpet Classic in Dalton, GA.