Three Clemson Players Finish In Top Five Of Northeast Amateur

June 26, 2000

Clemson, SC–Former Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd, rising sophomore D.J. Trahan and rising senior Lucas Glover all finished in the top 5 at the Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rhde Island over the weekend.

Byrd, the defending champion, shot a four-under-par 65 in the final round to make a charge at medalist Luke Donald, but the former Tiger came up two shots short. Byrd finished with a four-round total of 270, just two shots off the 268 by Donald, the 1999 NCAA Champion. Donald’s total tied John Cook’s tournament record, a total he shot in 279. Byrd’s total of 270 was actually four shots better than his winning score of last year.

Trahan, a first-team freshman All-American in 2000, shot a two-over par 278 for the event, good enough for fourth place. Glover was tied for fifth at 280 with Ben Curtis of Kent, OH and Kent State University and James Driscoll of Chestnut Hill, MA and the University of Virginia.

Rising Clemson senior John Engler was 14th with a 283 total, while red-shirt freshman Michael Sims finished 33rd with a 287 score.

“I can’t complain, said Byrd, a first-team Academic All-American at Clemson in 1999 and 2000. “I played as well as I could. I’m proud of how I hung in there and kept battling. Luke just played solid golf and made the big putts when needed.”

Donald started the day with a six-shot lead over Byrd. But Byrd, birdied the ninth hole when he made a 40-foot putt, and the 10th hole when he made a five-footer. That brought the Columbia, SC native to five-under-par and just two shots out of the lead. But, Byrd posted a bogey on the 12th hole to fall three shots back. Byrd gained another shot when he birdied the 17th hole, the only par five on the course, but that was as close as he could get against the two-time All-American from Northwestern.

Northeast Amateur ResultsPar 69 at Wannamoisett Country Club, Rumford, Rhode Island

Pos. Name Scores Total vs. Par 1. Luke Donald 66-69-64-69 268 -8 2. *Jonathan Byrd 68-67-70-65 270 -6 3. Alex Rocha 68-68-69-72 277 +1 4. *D.J. Trahan 71-70-68-69 278 +2 5. *Lucas Glover 68-70-70-72 280 +4 Ben Curtis 68-73-68-71 280 +4 James Driscoll 70-69-69-72 280 +4 8. Matt Abbott 68-71-71-71 281 +5 14. *John Engler 68-70-77-68 283 +7 33. *Michael Sims 76-73-72-66 287 +11 *Clemson Players