Tigers Have Five-Shot Lead Entering Final Round of Clemson Invitational

Clemson, S.C.—Four Clemson golfers shot under par on Saturday to lead the Tigers to a tournament team best 280 score and a five-shot lead entering the final round of the second annual Clemson Invitational at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, S.C.   The third and final round will be held at the par 72 course on Sunday.

Clemson will be paired with Georgia Tech and Alabama for the third round. Tee times for those three schools begin at 10:10 a.m. off the first tee. Clemson won the event last year and is attempting to go wire to wire two consecutive years.

Clemson has a two-day total of two-under-par 574 thanks to a 14-shot improvement over the first round. Most of the schools showed improvement on Saturday as the weather conditions were much more benign. The average score for the 70-player field dropped from 78 to 74 in the second round.

Georgia Tech stands in second place with a 579 total thanks to team rounds of 296 and 283. Alabama is third, just three shots behind Georgia Tech at 582. SMU is in fourth place at 15-over-par 591.

Carson Young and Bryson Nimmer both had rounds of three-under-par 69, while Doc Redman and Austin Langdale had rounds of 71 to lead the balanced Tigers performance. Freshman William Nottingham was not far behind with a 74.

Young, Langdale and Redman are all in the top 10 of the medalist race entering the final round.   Young stands in a tie for third place, while Langdale is fourth and Redman is seventh. Nimmer improved to 13th place after his second round 69.

William Rainey of College of Charleston and James Clark of Georgia Tech are tied for the lead at three under par 141. Young is third, followed by Andrew Buchanan of SMU, Jonathan Hardee of Alabama and Langdale at one under par 141.  

Clemson has two individuals playing the tournament and they both rank in the top 15 entering the final round. Fickes had a 69 on Saturday to move from 15th to seven place, while Mathison had a 73 on Saturday after and opening round 72 and stands in 13th place at 145.

For the second consecutive day, a player had a hole-on-one. Navy golfer Thomas Garbee scored an ace on the par three 11th hole that is 168 yards in length.