Men’s Golfer Named Academic All-American

June 8, 1999

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson golfer Jonathan Byrd has been chosen to the Academic All-America team according to the Golf Coaches Association of America. Byrd was named first-team All-American for his performance on the course earlier this week.

Byrd was the only golfer in the nation this year to earn first-team Academic honors and first-team All-America honors on the course.

The native of Columbia is the first Clemson golfer to earn All-America honors on the course and in the classroom in the same year since 1990 when Oswald Drawdy was named to both teams. Byrd is just the second golfer in school history to make both teams in the same year.

Byrd led Clemson in stroke average this year with a 72.10 figure, the fourth best single season mark in Clemson history. He is currently fourth on the Clemson career list as well with a 72.75 average. This season he had seven top 10 finishes and now has 20 for his career. He recently finished 16th at the NCAA tournament, helping the Tigers to an eighth place team finish.

The junior has a 3.6 grade point average in marketing. He was one of nine Clemson golfers to earn selection to the Clemson academic honor roll for the spring semester. Larry Penley’s team had a 3.2 team GPA for the spring, highest semester average on record.

Byrd is the seventh athlete in Clemson history to be chosen All-American on the field and in the classroom in the same year, the first to do it in nearly a decade.

Clemson Athletic/Academic Doubles (Clemson athletes who have been first, second or third team All-American on and off the field in the same year)

Year Player Sport Field Acad 1959-60 Lou Cordileone Football 1st 1st 1978-79 Steve Fuller Football 3rd 1st 1985-86 Tina Krebs Women’s Track 1st 2nd 1986-87 Ingelise Driehuis Women’s Tennis 1st 1st 1988-89 Dov Kremer Men’s Track 1st 1st 1989-90 Oswald Drawdy Golf 3rd 1st 1998-99 Jonathan Byrd Golf 1st 1st