Men’s Golf Tied For 6th After First Round

May 30, 2001

Day 1 Team & Individual Results

DURHAM, N.C. – Lucas Glover and D.J. Trahan both had even-par rounds, leading Clemson to a 294 team score and a sixth-place standing after the first round of the NCAA golf championships. The event is being played at the par 72 Duke University Course in Durham, NC.

The Tigers are in sixth place, 14 shots off the lead held by Arizona, who shot a 280 on Wednesday, a full nine shots better than any other team. Georgia Tech is second at 289, while Augusta State and Toledo are tied for third at 293. East Tennessee State, who won the NCAA East Regional 10 days ago, is all alone in fifth at 293. Clemson follows, along with Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Number-one ranked Georgia is tied for 13th along with a top five Florida team. Perennial golf power Oklahoma State shot a 300 on Wednesday and is in 24th position. The Cowboys won the championship last year and have finished in the top five 22 of the last 24 years.

Glover and Trahan each had nine hole scores of 37-35. Both got off to difficult starts with double bogeys on the second hole. But, Glover came back to birdie two of the last three three holes on the front, and Trahan birdied 16 and 18 to finish strong.

Trahan continued to play well at the NCAA national event. The sophomore had a six-under par 282 last year at Auburn to finish 15th. He was Clemson’s top player. Glover finished eighth at the 1999 event at Hazeltine, the last time a Tiger had a top 10 finish at the national event. Both are tied for 20th individually heading into the second round.

John Engler, Gregg Jones and Jani Saari all shot 75s on Wednesday. Engler, one of the more consistent players in college golf and Clemson’s career stroke average leader, had an even par 36 on the back, but had three birdies, three bogeys and three pars. Jones and Saari both birdied the last hole to reach 75.

The Tigers got off to a rough start on Wednesday. Playing with a 1:03 initial tee time, the Tigers fell five over par for the first five holes. At one point Clemson was tied for 17th. But the Tigers finished strong with three players scoring par or better on the back nine.

Thursday, Clemson will have an early tee time (8:03 am), and that should be more conducive to scoring. Clemson must rank in the top 15 after Thursday’s second round to advance to the final 36 holes. Larry Penley’s team last failed to make a cut at the national tournament at Ohio State in 1996. The Tigers have made nine straight cuts including NCAA regional play.

Clemson IndividualsLucas Glover                    72              20thD.J. Trahan                     72              20thGregg Jones                     75              66thJohn Engler                     75              66thJani Saari                      75              66thClemson team                    294             6th