Miller Capps Finishes Third at Jerry Pate

Miller Capps finished third against a national field in just his third career tournament, leading Clemson to a fifth-place finish at the 12-team Jerry Pate Intercollegiate at the Old Overton Course in Birmingham, AL.

The Tigers had a team score of 870, just three shots out of third place. Alabama won the event with a 857 score, while Florida was second at 861 and Auburn was third at 867. UNLV was fourth at 868.

Capps finished with a score of 210 for the 54 holes, even par. He was one of just three golfers in the 60-player field to shoot even par or better. Justin Thomas of Alabama finished first at 208, while Michael Johnson of Auburn was second at 209.

Capps had rounds of 72-68-70 for the three rounds played over two days. His 68 was the lowest round of his freshman season and one of just two under par rounds in the event by a Clemson golfer. He had been 30 over par for his first two events, then shot even par for the three rounds in Alabama.

Clemson took four freshmen to the tournament and thee of them finished in the top 19. In addition to Capps’ third place finish, Blake Kennedy finished 11th with a 218 score. He had rounds of 74-67-77 for a 218 total. His 67 was the low round by a Clemson golfer at the event and the low rounds by a Clemson golfer this year. It was the first career event for the freshman from Spartanburg High School. He finished with 11 birdies for the tournament, tied for second among all players.

Cody Proveaux was a third freshman in the lineup and he finished in 19th place with a 220 score. He had consistent rounds of 72-75-73.

Stephen Behr, Clemson’s low scorer for the year entering the event, finished in 26th place at 223 after rounds of 75-72-76. Senior Crawford Reeves finished 36th with a 226 score after rounds of 75-74-77.

Clemson was in second place entering the final round after a team score of 281 in the second round. That proved to be the low team round of the entire tournament by any school. But, the Tigers slipped to a 296 score in the final round and fell to fifth in the final ranking. The Tigers were seven over par for the final three holes of the day.

Clemson will conclude its fall portion of the schedule this coming weekend at the US Collegiate in Alpharetta, GA at the Golf Club of Georgia.