Tigers Finish 4th at Golf Digest Collegiate

March 14, 1999

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Lucas Glover fired a career best six-under-par 66 to lead Clemson to a 278 team score on the final day and a fourth-place team finish at the Golf Digest Collegiate at Desert Inn Country Club in Las Vegas. The Tigers had the second lowest team round of the final day, but defending National Champion UNLV was two strokes better and won the tournament by four shots over Georgia.

UNLV had a team score of 855 to win the event, nine-under par. The host team had shot 298 on the first day, but finished with scores of 281 and 276 on the last two days over the course they play often during the season. Georgia had a 285 score on the final day, seven strokes more than the Tigers, but the team from Athens had an 859 score to finish second.

Oklahoma State, who has been to the NCAA National Tournament a record 52 consecutive years, was third at 862, one stroke better than the Tigers, who have been to the National event 17 consecutive years.

Georgia Tech finished fifth with an 870 score, the fifth consecutive tournament this year and ninth time in the last 10 over two years Clemson has beaten the second ranked Yellow Jackets. Arizona State was sixth at 878, while Texas was seventh at 879. New Mexico ranked eighth at 880, while top 10 Houston finished ninth at 882. Defending champion Virginia was 10th at 887. There were 15 teams in the field and 13 are ranked in the top 20 in the nation.

Glover showed consistent improvement over the course of the event and his 211 score for the event was fifth best overall, best among the Tigers. His 66 on Sunday tied for the best individual round of the entire tournament. John Engler made a 10-stroke improvement over his second round and finished 14th after a final round 67 and a tournament score of 217.

Jonathan Byrd had a 71 on Sunday and finished 18th with a two-over-par 218. Senior Elliot Gealy, among the leaders after the first day, had a 74 on Sunday and was 36th at 222. Freshman Michael Hoey had an 80 on Sunday and was 57th with a 230 score.

David Gossett of Texas, the number-one ranked player in the nation, won a playoff with Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech to capture medalist honors. Both Gossett and Molder shot 69 on Sunday to finish at 208.

Clemson at Golf Digest Collegiate

Lucas Glover     75-70-66     211   5thJohn Engler      73-77-67     217   14thJonathan Byrd    75-72-71     218   18thElliot Gealy     72-76-74     222   36thMichael Hoey     78-72-80     230   57thTeam             295-290-278  863   4th