Stillwater, Okla.—Doc Redman and Bryson Nimmer are tied for second in the individual race, leading Clemson to a tie for sixth out of 30 teams after 36 holes of the NCAA Men’s Golf Tournament at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.
Clemson has a 579 team total for 36 holes after scores of 285 and 294 for the first two rounds. Clemson was one of 15 teams to finish the first round Saturday morning, then had to play another 18 holes later in the morning and early afternoon.
It was a wild day in many ways. Clemson started the second in third place, then dropped to 18th place at one point before finishing in a tie for sixth by nightfall
Texas Tech has the team lead at five-under-par 571, one shot ahead of home team Oklahoma State. Alabama is third at 573. Oklahoma and Duke are tied for fourth. Clemson is tied for sixth with Kent State and Vanderbilt. Clemson is six shots ahead of the 15-team cutline that will be in play after Sunday’s third round.
Clemson players were on the course for seven hours in the 90-degree heat, but hung in all day, to the satisfaction of Head Coach Larry Penley. “Today was about hanging in there and we did. At this stage you want to survive and advance as Jim Valvano used to say. That was the case for a lot of teams today.
“We didn’t play as well as we did in the first round, but we are still right there with the goal of reaching the top 15 Sunday night and the top eight Monday night.”
Redman and Nimmer combined to shoot 11-under-par in the first round, but they were a combined one-over-par in the second round. Freshmen Kyle Cottam (74) and Colby Patton (75) were big reasons Clemson stayed in the top five after 36 holes.
“I was very proud of Kyle and Colby today. Kyle has given us a 71 and 74, and Colby really kept it together after making a triple bogey on the first hole (his 10th hole of the day). To play the last eight holes even par after the triple was outstanding.”
Penley substituted William Nottingham for Turk Pettit in the second round. Pettit struggled in the first round with an 81. Nottingham had the same score on Saturday. “We experimented with the (new) substitution rule on Saturday,” said Penley.
“We will go back to Turk and our regular lineup on Sunday. Turk took today to work out the problems he has had with his driver. We were encouraged that he shot even par for his last seven holes Saturday morning.
Clemson is the only team with two players in the top eight after 36 holes as Nimmer and Redman are both five under par and tied for second, one shot behind Brandon Mancheno of Auburn.
Redman was Clemson’s top player in the second round with a two-under-par 70, including birdie on the ninth hole, his final hole of the day. After shooting a career best 64 in the first round, Nimmer had a 75 in the second, but is still at 139 for 36 holes.
2018 NCAA National Tournament
Karsten Creek
Stillwater, Okla.
Team Standings
1.Texas Tech 571, 2. Oklahoma State 572, 3. Alabama 573, 4. Duke and Oklahoma 578, 6. Clemson, Kent State, Vanderbilt, 579, 9. Illinois, Auburn, Texas 580, 12. Texas A&M 582, 13. Arizona State, North Carolina, Arkansas and BYU 585, 17. Northwestern and Florida 586, 19. Stanford 587, 20. Kentucky 589, 21. UNLV 590, 22. UCF and Iowa State 591 24. UCLA 592, 25. NC State, Baylor and North Florida 595, 28. Oregon and Kansas 597, 30. Augusta 600.
Clemson Individuals
