Men’s Golf Wins Jerry Pate Intercollegiate

October 20, 1998

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – John Engler, Jonathan Byrd and Michale Hoey all finished in the top six individually to lead Clemson to the championship of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate golf tournament at the par 71 Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham, AL. It was the second straight year that Clemson has won the event.

The 12-team event featured nine of the top 11 ranked teams in the nation according to the Mastercard Collegiate Poll. It was the second tournament victory in three outings this fall for Larry Penley’s Tigers, who were ranked third in the Mastercard poll and first in the Golfweek poll entering this tournament.

Clemson captured the title by 14 shots, a significant accomplishment against such a formidable field. The Tigers had team rounds of 282, 269 and 281 for the event to finish at 832. Clemson was under par for all three rounds, including a record low 269 in the second round on Monday.

Defending National Champion UNLV, who beat the Tigers by just three strokes at the NCAA Championship last year, finished second to Clemson on Tuesday with an 846 score. Oklahoma State, who has been to the NCAA championships a record 52 consecutive years, was third at 847. Houston was fourth with an 851 count, while Alabama was fifth at 852.

UCLA was sixth at 856, Georgia was seventh at 857 and TCU was eighth at 865. Arizona State came in ninth with an 880 figure, Florida was 10th at 880, while Arizona was 11th at 882. Auburn was last with an 888 count, 56 strokes behind the Clemson Tigers.

Clemson’s 832 team score was 20-under-par and the score was the lowest in Clemson history, breaking the previous record of 836 set at last year’s ACC Tournament. The 20-under figure tied for the second best in Clemson history for a 54-hole event.

Engler, who shot a 64 in the second round, tied for the second best individual round in Clemson history, had a 71 on Tuesday and finished fifth overall at 206, seven under par. Jeremy Anderson of UNLV and B.J. Schlagenhauf of UCLA tied for the individual honors at 204.

Engler was one of four Tigers who played the event under par. Byrd and Hoey finished at 207, tied for sixth, after carding rounds of 67 and 68, respectively on Tuesday. It was quite an accomplishment for Hoey, who was playing his first tournament as a Tiger. The native of Ireland had rounds of 71, 68 and 68.

Greenville, SC native Lucas Glover shot a 75 on Tuesday, but still had a one-under-par 212 for the event, which tied for 13th individually. Senior Luke Ferguson had a 79 on Tuesday and finished at 233, 58th place.

Clemson at Jerry Pate Intercollegiate

John Engler           71-64-71     206     5thJonathan Byrd     72-68-67     207     6thMichale Hoey      71-68-68     207     6thLucas Glover      68-69-75     212    13thLuke Ferguson     74-80-79     233    58thTeam           282-269-281     832     1st