Clemson, S.C.—Veteran Ana Paula Valdes and freshman Ivy Shepherd both had three-under-par rounds of 69 on Friday, as the Clemson women’s golf team opened its 2018-19 season with a 283 team score, good enough for a third-place standing after the first round of the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee. The Tigers are third out of 15 teams in the national field that includes four teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Vanderbilt has the first round lead after shooting a team score of 10-under-par 278. Arizona State is second at 279. The Tigers are third with a 283, one shot ahead of Auburn and five shots ahead of Wake Forest.
The Tigers had 23 birdies as a team, first in the field with hosts Vanderbilt in second with 22.
“Really proud of our young group,” said Head Coach Kelley Hester. “They were solid all day, then we had a slight rain delay with a few holes to play and they finished the round even stronger. Ana Paula has been a great leader for our young group and that really helped us get off to a good start.”