Clemson, SC—Clemson will be one of 12 schools competing for the Atlantic Coast Conference golf championship this weekend at The Country Club of North Carolina Dogwood Course in Pinehurst. It will be the first time the course has served as host of the ACC Championship.
The course has been the scene of many top amateur events, including six Southern Amateurs. Hal Sutton won the US Amateur at the Country Club of North Carolina in 1980. The course opened in 1963.
The 12 teams will play 36 holes of stroke play on Friday, April 21, then play a third round of stroke play on Saturday. The top four teams after 54 holes of stroke play will advance to the match play portion of the tournament that will determine the champion. The semifinals will be held on Sunday and the championship on Monday.
Specific tee times will be announced later in the week, but play will begin off the first tee at 7:18 am on Friday.
Clemson will start a lineup consisting of a senior, two juniors and two sophomores with a freshman serving as the alternate.
Andrew Swanson has been Clemson’s top golfer this spring and he will play in the number-one position. The sophomore from Bluffton, SC has a team best 71.52 stroke average for the year and has 11 under-par rounds. His 63 in the third round of the Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii was the key to his first career victory. He shot an 18-under-par 195 at that tournament, setting a school record for score vs. par in a 54-hole event. He is coming off a third-place finish at the Seahawk Intercollegiate.
Kian Rose, a sophomore who played in the 2022 ACC Tournament as a freshman, will hold the number-two position in Jordan Byrd’s order. Rose has a 72.08 stroke average for the year and leads the team in under-par rounds with 12. The native of South Africa posted an eighth place finish at the Linger Longer Intercollegiate in March, leading Clemson to a fourth place finish against a strong field.
Jonathan Nielsen will be in the number-three position when play starts on Friday. The junior from Denmark has a 71.92 stroke average and has 16 rounds at par or better, most on the team. Nielsen had a top 10 in the fall at The Blessings and finished his spring with an 18th place at the Linger Longer, and 19th at the Seahawk Intercollegiate. His score has counted in 23 of 24 team rounds this year.
Zack Gordon is the veteran of the Clemson lineup. The fifth-year player from Gaffney, SC scored the winning putt in his match against Florida State to give the Tigers the 2021 ACC Championship. This will be his fourth ACC Championship. The veteran of 40 tournaments and 117 rounds has a 73.38 average this year.
Alberto Dominquez, a transfer from Erskine, will be the fifth player in the Clemson lineup. He was a two-time Division II All-American at Erskine. This year he had a 73.80 stroke average in five events. He had his best finish at the Maul Jim Intercollegiate when he finished 15th with a 215 score.
Coaches are allowed to make substitutions throughout the tournament. Freshman Thomas Higgins will be Clemson’s alternate player. He has a 73.67 average this year in five events.
Live scoring will be available on golfstat.com. ACC Network Extra will have coverage of the semifinals and the finals. For Clemson fans who would like attend the event, admission is free. The address of the course is 1600 Morganton Road, Pinehurst, NC.
