Men’s Golf Ranked Third, Seeded #2 for Tournament

May 20, 1998

CLEMSON, SC–Clemson is ranked third in the nation in the latest Mastercard men’s college golf rankings, but seeded second for the upcoming NCAA Tournament according to releases made Wednesday. The Tigers will be competing in the NCAA National Tournament at Albuquerque, NM May 27-30, Clemson’s 17th consecutive appearance in the national event.

Clemson is seeded second for the tournament by the NCAA committee and will tee-off between 12:27 PM and 1:03 PM on Wednesday May 27th, and will be paired with #1 seed UNLV and #3 seed Georgia Tech. Clemson will have a 7:30 AM tee-time on Thursday. After 36 holes the field will be cut to the top 15 teams plus ties. The final two rounds will take place Friday and Saturday. Clemson finished third as a team last year.

The Tigers are ranked third in the nation in the latest Mastercard poll, trailing only UNLV and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets moved ahead of Clemson by virtue of their NCAA East Regional championship at Daufuskie Island, SC last weekend. Clemson finished second, but had an 844 team score, second lowest in Clemson history.

The Tigers have five golfers ranked among the top 55 golfers in the nation according to the Mastercard individual rankings released on Wednesday. Charles Warren, the defending NCAA Champion, is ranked 20th individually. Sophomore Jonathan Byrd, who has a team best seven Top 10 finishes this year, is ranked 24th in the nation.

Joey Maxon, Clemson’s most improved golfer this spring with a streak of five straight tournaments at par or better, is ranked 28th in the nation. Freshman John Engler (Augusta, GA) is ranked 46th, while freshman Lucas Glover (Greenville, SC) is ranked 54th.

Clemson is the only school in the nation with five players ranked in the top 60 and all five have a stroke average of 72.8 or better, a first in Clemson golf history.