CLEMSON, S.C. — Rich Wills, Oscar Bredkjaer and Lucas Augustsson all had rounds of one-under-par 71 on Friday to lead Clemson to a five-shot team improvement over round one, and a tie for sixth place after two rounds of the ACC Men’s Golf Championship at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla.
The final round of stroke play will be held on Saturday. The top eight teams after Saturday’s third round of stroke play will advance to the quarterfinals of match play. The match play quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Sunday and the ACC Champion will be determined with the match play championship on Monday.
Clemson was tied for eighth after the first round with a 291 team score, but improved to a tie for sixth after Friday’s second round team total of two-under-par 286. Clemson, Georgia Tech, SMU and Florida State are all tied for sixth place with a one-over-par score of 577. Those four teams are just eight shots out or second.
Stanford, the third highest ranked ACC team at #18 in the nation, has a 16-shot lead over second ranked Virginia with 18 holes left in stroke play. Teams second through 10th place are separated by just 10 shots.
Wills and Bredkjaer recorded their second consecutive rounds of 71 and stand in a tie for 14th place after 36 holes. Bredkjaer had his second consecutive round with three birdies and just two bogeys. Wills had four birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. ‘
Augustsson improved from an opening round 76 to his second round 71. He had four birdies and three bogeys for a 147 total through two rounds, tied for 38th place. Wills, Bredkjaer and Augustsson all played the front nine bogey free.
Clemson got off to a rough start as a team. The Tigers' five golfers were a combined seven over par for their first three holes, holes 10-12 on the course. But, the Tigers played well the final six holes of the back to turn one-over-par as a team. Clemson’s counting four players then played the front nine at three-under-par when they counted just one bogey.
The back nine was more difficult than the front nine for the 15 teams in the field. Eight of the most difficult 12 holes on the course for Friday’s second round were on the back nine.
Senior Thomas Higgins had a one-over-par 73 on Friday, a three-shot improvement over his opening round, and he has a 149 total entering the final round. Sophomore Colin Salema had a 76 on Friday and also has a 149 total through 36 holes.
Live scoring of the ACC Championship is available HERE.