Former Clemson Golfer Jonathan Byrd to Compete in Masters

April 8, 2003

Former Clemson golfer Jonathan Byrd will compete in the 2003 Masters, an event that begins on Thursday in Augusta, GA . It will mark the third straight year a golfer with Clemson ties will compete in the event. Last year, former Clemson golfer Michael Hoey competed after winning the 2001 British Amateur. Current Clemson senior D.J. Trahan made the 2001 field by virtue of his 2000 United States Public Links championship.

Byrd qualified for the 2003 Masters by finishing the 2002 PGA Tour season ranked in the top 40 on the money list. He won over $1.4 million to finish 39th on the list, including a victory at the Buick Challenge in October. Byrd was an All-American at Clemson between 1997-00. He was a four-time first-team All-ACC selection, the first Clemson golfer in history to be named to the first team four straight years and he played on four Clemson teams that finished in the top 10 in the nation. He was a two-time Academic All-American and on the course All-American and was the IPTAY Athlete of the Year in 2000.

So far this year, Byrd is 52nd on the money list with $395,239. He finished sixth at the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii in January and was fifth at the Ford Championship at Doral in March. He has made six cuts in nine previous events.

Dillard Pruitt played in the 1992 and 1993 Masters, the only former Tiger to play in more than one. His 282 finish in 1992 was good enough for 13th, the highest finish ever by a former Tiger at a major. He had a second round 68, also the best by a player with Clemson ties at the event.

Parker Moore, who was the US Amateur runner up in 1976, was the first golfer with Clemson ties to play in the Masters. He made the field in 1977 and shot a pair of 76s. Danny Ellis, Clarence Rose, Trahan and Hoey are the only other golfers with Clemson ties to play in the Masters. Patton and Trahan are the only ones to play at Augusta while they were still a member of the Clemson golf team. Patton, Pruitt and Rose are the only former Tigers to make a cut. Rose was the last one to do it in 1997.

Golfers with Clemson Ties who have played in the Masters