Clemson, SC—Andrew Swanson shot a two-under-par 70 and Jonathan Nielsen had a one-under par 71 to lead Clemson in the first round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate on Friday. The 14-team event is being played at the par 72 Golf Club of Georgia Course in Alpharetta, Ga. that measures 7,092 yards.
Clemson is in a tie for 12th place with UCLA and Pepperdine after the first round, but theTigers are just six shots out of fourth place in the competitive national field that includes 11 teams from Power Five Conference schools and five of the top 25 teams in the nation. Eleventh-ranked East Tennessee State has the lead at 13-under par 275 and Virginia is second at 10-under-par 278. Clemson is just five shots in back of 12th-ranked and host school Georgia Tech and four shots behind seventh-ranked Washington.
Swanson’s 70 included five birdies and three bogeys. He shot a 34 on the back nine, the best performance by a Tiger on any nine holes on Friday. Swanson stands in a tie for 13th place after the first round in the 75-player field.
Nielsen, coming off a sixth place finish at The Blessing, played the last 11 holes bogey free, including a 35 on the front nine, his second nine of the day. The senior stands in a tie for 26th place. Sophomore Thomas Higgins was a third Tiger to shoot par or better, as the native of Ireland had an even-par 72 that included five birdies.
Callahan Keever, Clemson’s leader in stroke average so far this year, had a 75 on Friday, but he had three birdies on the front side. Kian Rose was Clemson’s non counter with a 79.
Action continues tomorrow morning. Live scoring is available on golf stat.com.
