Mollica and Saunders Finish in Top 15 at Sunnehanna Amateur

June 8, 2008

Clemson, SC – Clemson golfers Phillip Mollica and Sam Saunders both finished in the top 15 at the Sunnehanna Amateur on Sunday. One of the top national amateur events of the summer schedule, Mollica finished tied for fourth with a 280 score, while Saunders was 15th at 283.

The Sunnehanna Amateur dates to 1954 and is played on the par 70 Sunnehanna Country Club Course in Johnstown, PA. Mollica and Saunders led Clemson to a third-place finish at the NCAA West Regional three weeks ago with identical 216 scores, then helped the Tigers to a fifth place national finish two weeks later. Mollica had a final round 73 on Sunday after opening with rounds of 70-69-68. He improved two spots in the final round to the fourth place finish despite shooting his worst round of the tournament. It showed how difficult the playing conditions were on Sunday.

Saunders had a final round 68 to tie Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh for the best round of the day in the 70-player field. Saunders started out three over par for his first three holes, then played the last 15 holes at five under par. He made birdies on four out of five holes between the seventh and 11th holes, then made pars on the last seven holes.

Saunders tied Zachery Sucher for 15th place. He beat Sucher by 11 shots on Sunday to reach that tie. Zucher, a golfer for UAB, had a course record 61 on Saturday, then slumped to a 79 on Sunday. Oklahoma State rising sophomore Rickie Fowler won the tournament for the second straight year with an eight under par 272 score. Clemson rising junior Luke Hopkins also played in the tournament and finished 60th with a 302 score.

Clemson Golfers at Sunnehanna Amateur June 5-8, 2008 At Sunnehanna Country Club Johnstown, PA