Tigers Finish Fourth at ACC Tournament

April 18, 1999

NEW LONDON, N.C. — John Engler was Clemson’s top finisher at the ACC golf tournament completed Sunday. The Tigers finished fourth as a team and Engler was fourth individually on the par 72 Old North State Club in New London, NC.

The Tigers struggled in the final round as none of Clemson’s five golfers had a score of par of better, leading to a team score of 297, Clemson’s worst team round of the event. Georgia Tech finished first with an 863 team total, including a tournament best 285 on Sunday. Four of Georgia Tech’s five golfers shot par or better on Sunday. Clemson had a final team score of 876.

Duke and North Carolina finished in a tie for second with 873 scores. Duke had a 291 team score on Sunday, second best on the day, and Matt Krauss of the Blue Devils won the tournament with a 212 score. He shot a 69 on Sunday, one of just two scores in the 60s in the final round.

Clemson was tied for the lead after six holes and trailed Georgia Tech by just six entering the final three holes. Clemson played the first 51 holes of the event in five over par, then played the last three holes seven over. Clemson was in second place by four shots entering the final three holes, then finished fourth.

NC State was fifth with an 884 score, eight shots behind Clemson. Maryland finished sixth at 905, Virginia was seventh at 906, Wake Forest was eighth at 908 and Florida State was last at 919.

Engler finished with bogies on the last two holes to conclude with a final round 74 and an even par tournament. He was tied for the lead entering the final round. His 216 score tied for fourth and it was his second straight year in the top five. Jonathan Byrd had his third straight top 10 at the ACC Tournament. He finished ninth with a score of 218 after a 74 on Sunday.

Freshman Michael Hoey was tied for 12th at 220 after a 75 on Sunday, while Lucas Glover finished tied for 18th at 222 after a third straight 74. Glover was three under par on Sunday’s round at one point on the back nine, but played the last two holes three over par. Elliot Gealy had a 78 on Sunday and his 227 score for the event ranked 29th.

Clemson will now have over a month to prepare for the NCAA East Regional, which will be played May 20-22 at the Rhode Island Country Club in Providence.