Nine Golfers With Ties To Clemson To Compete In BMW Charity Pro Am At The Cliffs

April 23, 2002

CLEMSON, S.C. – Nine golfers with ties to the Clemson program will compete at this weekend’s BMW Charity Pro Am at the Cliffs. The 72-hole event will be played over two different courses (Vineyards and Valley courses) near Greenville, S.C. on Thursday and Friday. All the action will be at the Valley Course on Saturday and Sunday.

The list of golfers with ties to Clemson includes current Clemson junior D.J. Trahan, who will play the BUY.com event as an amateur. It will be his first professional event. Trahan, a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award this year, has led the current Clemson team to a #2 national ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin poll. He has a 70.36 stroke average for the Tigers this year, a figure that is on course to break the single season record of 70.87 set by John Engler last year.

The list of former Tigers in this weekend’s BUY.com event includes former NCAA All-American Charles Warren and former three-time All-American Kevin Johnson. Both former exempt PGA Tour players will play together on Thursday and Friday. Clemson All-Americans from the 2001 team that finished second in the nation, Lucas Glover and John Engler will also compete this weekend.

Joey Maxon, a teammate of Warren’s on Clemson’s second ranked 1998 team, former Clemson player of the early 1980s Mike Lawrence, a local professional, and former Tiger All-ACC golfer Charles Raulerson will also be in action. Raulerson played two years at Clemson before transferring to LSU. Tommy Biershenk is another former Tiger who is a veteran of the BUY.com tour and will be competing this weekend.

Two former Clemson football players, Rodney Williams and Scott Beville, will play in the Pro-Am competition. In fact, Williams is paired with D.J. Trahan and Beville will play with Lucas Glover.

Four former Tigers are competing in the Greater Greensboro Open this weekend, giving Clemson 13 players with ties to Clemson on tour this weekend. The field at the Greater Greensboro Open includes former Tigers Jonathan Byrd, Danny Ellis, Richard Coughlan and Jeff Julian.