Clemson Women Head to Norman for the Schooner Fall Classic

Clemson, S.C.— Clemson will play its second tournament of the fall season at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. Clemson is one of 15 teams in the national field that will include Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame. The University of Oklahoma’s Belmar Golf Club will be the site of the tournament that will run from Friday, September 28 through Sunday, September 30.

Clemson will have a different lineup than it used at the Mason Rudolph Championship last weekend. Alice Hewson, Clemson’s top returner from last season, will see her first action of the 2018-19 season.

Last year at the Schooner Fall Classic, Hewson finished third overall at eight-under par. The Berkhamsted, United Kingdom native shot 65 in the final round to tie her career low round from her freshman year at the Cougar Classic. She also finished the tournament with a season high 15 birdies. Hewson had nine-hole scores of 35-30, with the 30 on the back nine being the lowest in school history by an individual.

Ana Paula Valdes finished right behind Hewson last year at the Schooner Fall Classic in fourth, with a six-under par 207. In the final round, Valdes shot a career best 67 and her 207 was six shots better than her career best score for 54 holes, which she had shot in the Mason Rudolph Championship last fall.

Valdes and freshman Ivy Shepherd opened the 2018-19 season strong with three-under par opening rounds of 69 at this year’s Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn. last weekend. After the first round, the team was in third with a 283 and 23 birdies.

Shepherd was the top Tiger, with a one-over par 73 in the second round, to lead the Clemson women’s golf team. She had 11 birdies between the first two rounds in her first collegiate tournament.

Alexandra Swayne and Gracyn Burgess, also freshmen, will complete the lineup for head coach Kelley Hester this weekend. Swayne finished her first collegiate tournament last weekend at one-over par, while Burgess finished at seven-over.