Clemson To Compete In US Collegiate

March 27, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson will participate in a tournament outside the United States for the second time this spring when it travels to Mexico for the US Collegiate April 7-9. The event will be played at Cabo San Lucas Country Club in Mexico.

Lucas Glover, D.J. Trahan, John Engler and Jonathan Byrd all have averages under 72 for the year and will be in the lineup for the US Collegiate. The fifth position will be up for grabs the week of the event with a qualifying tournament.

Jani Saari was the #5 man at the Chris Schenkel, Ben Duncan for the tournament prior to that. Both struggled in their respective last events. Brennen King and Ben Johnson are two other players who have participated in tournaments this year for the Tigers. Tripp James is a sophmore who has not played in an event yet, but will have a shot at qualifying.

The US Collegiate will be televised on ESPN-2 on April 8-9 from 2-4:00 PM. It will be shown on ESPN-2 in the two hour window prior to CBS coverage of the Master’s.

Clemson’s Tentative Lineup for the US Collegiate

Byrd Sets Career Record for Under-Par Rounds Jonathan Byrd became Clemson’s all-time career leader in under-par rounds when he had three straight under-par scores at the Chris Schenkel Invitational March 25-26. Byrd’s second under-par round of the tournament, a one-under 71 in the second round on Saturday, was his 54th as a Clemson Tiger, breaking the record of 53 held by Kevin Johnson between 1985-89.

Byrd added another under-par round on Sunday (71) and now has 55 entering the US Collegiate. Byrd has accomplished his 55 career under par rounds in 142 rounds, while Johnson, now on the buy.com tour, did his in 147 career rounds.

Byrd now has 67 career rounds at par or better and needs just four of those to break Chris Patton’s career record of 70, set between 1986-90. Byrd has 16 rounds at par or better this year, 12 under-par and four at par.

It is also interesting to note that current juniors Lucas Glover are ranked sixth and seventh in Clemson history in rounds under par. Glover has 14 under-par rounds this year, while Engler has 13. Engler stands at 38 under-par rounds for his career, while Glover is close behind with 36. With this career ranking it is easy to see why Engler, Glover and Byrd rank 1-2-3 in career stroke average at Clemson.

Clemson Career Leaders Rounds Under Par

Clemson Career Leaders in Rounds at Par or better

Clemson Finishes Second at Chris Schenkel E-Z Go Invitational Lucas Glover, D.J. Trahan all had under-par tournaments, leading Clemson to a second-place team finish at the Chris Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, GA.

Clemson shot 282 on Sunday, the best team score of the day, but the Tigers could not overcome defending national champion Georgia, who had a 15 stroke lead entering the final day and finished with an 829 score. The Tigers were second with an 846 team score, six strokes ahead of third place NC State, who had 852. Clemson’s 846 score was its second best 54-hole team score of the year.

Florida and Duke tied for fourth with 861 scores, while Augusta State wassixth at 865 and South Carolina was seventh at 869. TCU was eighth at 870, while Northwestern, ranked third in the nation entering the event, was ninth at 872, 26 strokes behind the Tigers.

Clemson had four players under par for the tournament, the first time all year Clemson has done that. It was a consistent event for the Tigers who were at least five under-par for all three rounds, the only team in the tournament to do that.

Glover and Engler, both juniors, had scores of 210 for the tournament. Engler was Clemson’s top golfer on Sunday with a 68, while Glover had a 70, his third straight round at par or better. Both players finished fifth in the individual race. It was the fifth top 10 finish of the year for Glover and the fourth for Engler.

Jonathan Byrd was the only Tiger to shoot under par in all three rounds, scoring rounds of 70-71-71. His 212 score was good enough for 12th individually.

D.J. Trahan, who had won the Las Vegas Invitational in his last outing, had a solid 215 score and finished 18th. He shot a 73 on Sunday and is now 11-under-par for the year. He is on pace to break John Engler Clemson freshman scoring average record.

Jani Saari shot a 76 on Sunday and finished with a 226 score for the event. The native of Greenville had 72 in the second round for his best 18 of the tournament.

Clemson will next be in action April 7-9 at the United States Collegiate in San Lucas, Mexico. The final two days of that event will be televised by ESPN-2.

Clemson at Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational

Clemson ranked Second in MasterCard Poll March 24, 2000 Princeton, NJ–Clemson has moved from third to second in the latest MasterCard College Golf Foundation rankings. The Tigers trail only conference rival Georgia Tech, who is first. Northwestern is third, followed by Arizona State and Oklahoma State.

For the second straight ranking, Clemson has four of the top 25 players in the country, the only college team that can make that claim. Lucas Glover is the highest ranked Clemson golfer with a number-four ranking, while D.J. Trahan is 11th. John Engler ranks 16th, while senior Jonathan Byrd is 24th.

Trahan Wins Las Vegas Intercollegiate Freshman D.J. Trahan (Inman, SC, Dorman HS) fired a final round 66, then won a three-hole playoff against Matt Brost of Texas to win medalist honors at the prestigious Las Vegas Intercollegiate March 10-12. The event was held at the Desert Inn Country Club in Las Vegas, the same course that plays host to a PGA event.

Clemson finished sixth as a team, but the Tigers were just two shots from the winning score. It was one of the closest team races in Clemson golf history. Arizona State won the event in a playoff with Oklahoma State and Minnesota. All three teams shot 848 for the event. Texas and Georgia Tech tied for fourth at 849, just a shot back. Clemson was sixth at 850. Defending NCAA Champion Georgia was seventh at 860. Houston and host school UNLV were eight at 868, while New Mexico and North Carolina were 10th at 869. Florida was 12th at 874, Virginia 13th at 876 and South Carolina last at 883.

Trahan won the tournament against a field that included 10 of the top 20 teams in the nation and 10 of the top 25 individuals in the nation. The field included former US Amateur Champion Matt Kuchar, reigning US Amateur Champion David Gossett of Texas, 1998 NCAA Champion James McLean of Minnesota and Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech, the current number-one ranked player in the nation.

Trahan won the event with a 207 score for the 54 holes. He tied the Clemson record for lowest tournament score by a freshman and for best score versus par by a freshman. His nine-under par tied the freshman record also held by Chris Patton, who shot a -9 at the Gamecock Invitational in 1997.

Trahan, a native of Inman, SC and Dorman High School, is now 10-under par for the season and has been under par in four of his five tournaments. He finished eighth at the San Juan Shootout in the first event of the Spring. He had rounds of 73-68-66 for this past weekend. The 66 was a season best lowest competitive round by a Clemson freshman since Charles Warren shot a 66 at the Wofford Invitational in 1995. He was just the third freshman in Clemson history to shoot a 66 or better. The 66 was the low round of the entire tournament by any individual.

Clemson shot a 277 score as a team on Sunday, its second best team round of the year and the best score of the day by four strokes. The Tigers trailed by 16 strokes entering the final day and came within two shots of the title.

Helping Trahan was junior Lucas Glover, who fired a 67 on the final day. John Engler had a 74 and Ben Duncan shot a 76 to round out Clemson’s five players.

Byrd finished with a 211 score for the event, a seventh place finish, the 23rd top 10 finish of his Clemson career. Glover and Engler finished 35th with 219 scores, while Ben Duncan finished 67th with a 228 score. Glover, a native of Greenville, struggled in the first two rounds with scores of 77-75 before he caught fire on Sunday.

Trahan Top Tiger in Puerto Rico Freshman D.J. Trahan fired a two-under-par 70 in the final round to lead Clemson to a fourth-place finish at the San Juan Shootout at the Rio Mar Country Club in San Juan, Puerto Rico February 27-29. Georgia Tech won the event with an 853 team score, 11-under-par, while Clemson was fourth, eight strokes back.

Northwestern was second with an 857 score, while NC State was third at 859. After Clemson’s fourth place score of 861, Georgia, the defending NCAA champion was fifth at 866.

Trahan had rounds of 68-76-70 in finishing in eighth place with a 214 score. He was seven shots behind individual champion Luke Donald of Northwestern, who had a three-stroke victory with a 207 total.

It was the second top 10 finish of the year for Trahan, who finished sixth with a 214 score at the Golfweek Preview back in September. Among the players Trahan was tied with was Georgia Tech All-American Bryce Molder. Molder was the individual leader after 36 holes, but shot a 77 on the final round.

Lucas Glover, a pair of junior All-Americans for Larry Penley’s team, had a 216 score for he event, even par. Both shot 72 on the final round and finished in a tie for 15th place.

Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd struggled on Tuesday, shooting a 78. It was his first round of the year over 74 when playing for the Tigers and his worst round in 17 regular season tournaments dating back to 1998. Still, he shot a 218 for the tournament, just two over par and he finished tied for 18th.

Junior Jani Saari fired a 224 score for the 54-hole event, including a 76 on Tuesday. Despite a 50th place finish, Saari’s score counted two of the three days.

Four Tigers under 72 average for the year Clemson’s top four golfers all have stroke averages under 72.0 for the academic year. Lucas Glover leads the way with a 70.75 for the year, including a 70.20 for the fall season. Freshman D.J. Trahan has a 71.39 stroke average for the year, second best on the team. The freshman has had four straight under-par tournaments, the first freshman in Clemson history to do that. He was Clemson’s low man in the first two spring events and has been under par for five of his six tournaments this year. He was the medalist at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate.

John Engler, Clemson’s career stroke average leader, has a 71.48 average for the year, but that is just third best on the Clemson team. Jonathan Byrd, a first-team All-American last year, has a 71.67 stroke average, a figure that would be his career best for a season, but it is only fourth best on this year’s team.

Byrd Ranked 2nd in World Amateur Rankings Two Clemson golfers are ranked among the top 20 amateurs in the world based on ratings released in Golfweek through events of March 6, 2000. Lucas Glover is 18th with 95. Glover just completed a terrific fall season and has jumped ahead of Matt Kuchar in the rankings. Byrd trails only Hunder Huss of Norman, OK and the University of Oklahoma. Edward Loar is ranked third, while David Edger, Charles Howell and Aron Baddeley (Australia) are all tied for fourth.

Glover Had Sensational Fall of 1999 Lucas Glover had the greatest fall season in Clemson history when he had a 70.20 scoring average for 15 rounds in five tournaments this past fall. Glover was 24-under-par for the five tournaments, the best combined score vs. par in a fall season in the sports history. Glover had 10 under par rounds and two more at par.

The native of Greenville who is a two-time defending South Carolina Amateur Champion, had four straight top six finishes to end the fall, including a second-place at the Golf World at Palmetto Dunes. He was an incredible 11-under-par for the 54 holes, and the 205 score tied a Clemson record for lowest 54-hole score in a team event. He was under par for his last seven rounds and shot par of better in each of his last 12 rounds of the fall.

The fantastic fall elevated Glover to a number-six national ranking in the Sagarin individual rankings entering the spring season. He is also now 18th on the world wide US Amateur list according to Golfweek.

Current Tigers Rank one-two-three Current Clemson golfers Lucas Glover and Jonathan Byrd rank 1-2-3 in Clemson history in career stroke average. The latest figures that include this academic year show Engler ranked first with a 72.24 average. He posted a 71.39 figure for the fall of 1999 in has a 71.48 stroke average for this academic year over 27 rounds.

Glover, now ranked second nationally, made the biggest jump, on the career list this year. His 70.75 average for 24 rounds this year had a lot to do with that. Glover now has a 72.26 stroke average for his 95 career rounds. Jonathan Byrd, the only senior on the Clemson team in 2000, has a 72.57 average after firing a 71.67 average this year. Fourth on the list is Chris Patton, who had a 72.71 average between 1986-90. Patton is still active professionally. He won a TearDrop tournament in Florida in March.

Clemson Career Stroke Average Leaders (Minimum 45 rounds Played)

Glover and Engler Close Statistically Lucas Glover and John Engler could not be closer in terms of their statistics this year and over their careers. For their careers they rank one-two on the Clemson stroke average list and their career stroke averages are just .02 apart (72.24 to 72.26). In the last three tournaments they have had the exact same score in each tournament, including a pair of 210s at the Chris Schenkel where they tied for fifth place.

Engler and Glover really play different styles, but the results are just about the same. Engler is more conservative left-hander who is deliberate in his play. Glover is an aggressive right handed player who is one of the quickest players in college. He takes an average of just seven seconds over his shots.

Here is a comparison of career stats that show how close the juniors have been:

Clemson’s Byrd Named to Walker Cup Team Clemson All-America golfer Jonathan Byrd named to the United States Walker Cup team for 1999. He posted a 1-3 record for the United States team during the competition that took place at Nairn Golf Club in Nairn, Scotland. Byrd was the third Clemson golfer in history to compete in the Walker Cup. The others are Kevin Johnson (1990) and Richard Coughlan, who played on the Great Britain/Ireland team in 1997.

The selection was part of an active off-college season for Byrd. He was on Northeast Amateur and the Carolinas Amateur and finished runnerup at the Porter Cup. He was second at the South Carolina Amateur, reached the match play portion of the US Amateur and led the United States to victory in the Palmer Cup.

Tigers in Final Individual Rankings Three of Clemson players ranked in the top 20 of the Mastercard and Sagarin individual rankings for the 1998-99 academic year. All three return for this year. John Engler made the top 10 in Mastercard and Sagarin and was 14th in Golfstat. Jani Saari, who finished 77th in Sagarin, and Michael Hoey, 53rd in Mastercard, were also top 100 college players in 1998-99.

Clemson in Final 1998-99 College Golf Rankings

Byrd Academic All-American in 1998-99 Clemson golfer Jonathan Byrd chosen to the 1999 Academic All-America team according to the Golf Coaches Association of America and the College Sports Information Directors of America. Byrd was named first-team All-American for his performance on the course in June. Byrd was the only golfer in the nation in 1999 to earn first-team Academic honors and first-team All-America honors on the course.

The native of Columbia is the first Clemson golfer to earn All-America honors on the course and in the classroom in the same year since 1990 when Oswald Drawdy was named to both teams. Byrd is just the second golfer in school history to make both teams in the same year, but the first to be a first-team selection in both.

The junior has a 3.7 grade point average in marketing. He was one of nine Clemson golfers to earn selection to the Clemson academic honor roll for the spring semester of 1999. Larry Penley’s team had a 3.2 team GPA for the spring, highest semester average on record.

Byrd is the seventh athlete in Clemson history, regardless of sport, to be chosen All-American on the field and in the classroom in the same year, the first to do it in nearly a decade.