Clemson, SC-The Clemson men’s and women’s golf teams will compete in The Blessings Collegiate Invitational, presented by Tyson Foods, October 2-4 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The tournament will be televised by The Golf Channel each day from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Clemson will be one of nine programs competing with men’s and women’s programs. The list includes ACC teams Clemson and NC State, SEC teams Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State and South Carolina, Big Ten team Minnesota and the Pac 12’s University of Washington. North Texas rounds out the field that will compete on the par 72 course.
The tournament has a unique format. The men’s and women’s teams will play on the same course at the same time. Each school will have all five members of its team playing the same holes together. There will be 18 holes of competition each day with tee times starting at 8:45 a.m. each day. There will be a separate tournament scoring with a men’s winner and a women’s winner declared after 54 holes of play on Wednesday.
The Clemson women are ranked ninth in the nation after finishing a strong third out of 17 teams in the season opening Cougar Classic three weeks ago. Savannah Grewal was co-medalist of that event with a record setting score of 197, a 16-under-par performance in the season opener. She was co-medalist with world #1 amateur Ingrid Lindblad of LSU.
Annabelle Pancake will play in the #2 position in the lineup after shooting a seven-under-par 206 at the Cougar Classic. The native of Indiana finished 12th in that field when she had rounds of 69-70-67. Pancake is coming off an outstanding summer that included a runner-up finish at the British Amateur.
Chloe Holder will also be in the Clemson lineup after shooting an outstanding 207 score at the Cougar Classic. She finished 14th in that strong field after consistent rounds of 67-71-69.
Sydney Roberts will make her 2023-24 debut at The Blessings. The sophomore played five tournaments and 14 rounds last year and posted a 74.64 stroke average. Isabella Rawl is in her second year as a starter on the team. She had a two over par 215 in the opening tournament. She made the clinching putt in Clemson’s ACC Championship in Greensboro last spring.
The Clemson men will be led by junior Andrew Swanson. Swanson has a 70.67 stroke average so far this year after shooting a 212 at the Visit Tennessee Collegiate. Swanson was the top player on the Clemson team last year when he had a 71.57 stroke average and finished 11th at The Blessings with a 214 score.
Jonathan Nielsen will be the number-two player in the Clemson lineup at The Blessings. He was Clemson’s top player at The Blessings last year with he finished ninth with a 212 score. The senior shot a 219 with consecutive rounds of 73-73-73 at Tennessee to open this season.
Callahan Keever, a transfer from Anderson University, will make his first appearance in the Clemson team lineup. Last week he finished a strong third in a 90-team field at the Poston Invitational as an individual player when he shot six under-par 207. Keever was a Division II All-American last year.
Sophomore Thomas Higgins and junior Kian Rose will also be in the Clemson lineup. Higgins shot 225 at the Visit Tennessee to open the season, while Rose shot a 222. Rose is a veteran of 20 tournaments at Clemson and has a 73.03 career average. He finished 22nd at The Blessings last year.
Live scoring will be available for both tournaments on golfstat.com.
