Clemson, SC—Clemson will send a veteran lineup to the Linger Longer Invitational at the Great Waters Course in Eatonton, Ga. March 17-19. All five starters competed in the same tournament last year when Clemson finished fourth out of 16 teams, tied for the Tigers best finish at the event in five appearances.
This will be Clemson’s fourth event of the spring, as the team will look to continue its rise up the Spikemark National College Golf Rankings. Clemson has a 25-8-1 record against the field in its first three events this spring, including a victory at the Battle of Briar’s Creek back on Feb. 5-6.
The field includes ACC members Georgia Tech and Virginia, and SEC squads Alabama and Georgia.
Each of Clemson’s top four players in terms of stroke average will be in Jordan Byrd’s lineup that will feature two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. The squad will face the challenge of a par 72 course that will measure 7,436 yards, the second longest course of the season.
Leading the way will be senior Jonathan Nielsen, who has a team beat 71.26 stroke average thanks to 10 under-par rounds, five rounds in the 60s, 75 birdies, and three top 10 finishes. He is coming off an 18th place finish at the Wake Forest Invitational, the exact same finish he had at last year’s Linger Longer when he had a 218 total for the 54 holes.
Alberto Dominguez also will be in the lineup with a 72.29 stroke average. He was Clemson’s second best golfer at the Wake Forest Invitational with a 13th place finish. This will be his sixth tournament of the year, his fourth appearance in the Clemson team lineup. The native of Spain in his second year with the Clemson program has nine rounds of 72 or better this year.
Andrew Swanson has the third best stroke average in the Clemson lineup at 72.32, but the junior from Bluffton has a pair of top six finishes in the spring, including a team best sixth place finish at Pinehurst #2 in the Wake Forest Invitational in the most recent tournament. Swanson was Clemson’s second best player at the Linger Longer last year with a 14th place finish and score score of one-over-par 217.
Sophomore Thomas Higgins is fourth on the team in stroke average this year at 72.63, HIs spring included a fourth-place at Briar’s Creek when he helped the Tigers to the team championship.
Kian Rose has the fifth-best stroke average in the Clemson lineup, but he was the Tigers top player at this tournament last year when he finished eighth with a 215 score, the only Tiger to score under par. Rose, a red-shirt junior, has a 73.53 stroke average for 19 rounds this year.
Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com.
