Two Former Tigers To Compete in Masters

April 5, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Former Clemson All-Americans Jonathan Byrd and Lucas Glover will compete in the Masters this weekend at Augusta National in Augusta, GA. It will be the fourth Masters appearance for both golfers.

Play gets under way on Thursday. Byrd will be in the first group off the first tee on Thursday at 7:45 AM. He will play with Ross Fisher and Sean O’Hair. Glover will tee off at 12:09 PM and will play with former champion Trevor Immelman and Hideki Matsuyama.

This will be the first Masters appearance for Byrd since 2008. He made the cut in his first Masters in 2003 and finished eighth with a score of 288. That is the best finish by a golfer with ties to Clemson at Augusta National. Byrd also played in the 2004 Masters.

So far this year, Byrd is 16th on the PGA Tour money list with $1,404,148. He has made the cut in six of eight events, including his victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January when he shot a 24-under-par 268.

Glover, the 2009 US Open Champion, will be making his fourth appearance at the Masters. He has made the cut in each of his last two appearances, a 20th place finish in 2007 when he shot a 298, and a 44th place finish last year when he shot a 292. He is the only golfer with ties to Clemson to make the cut at more than one Masters.

Glover has made the cut in four of five tournaments this year, including a 20th place finish at the Transitions Tournament in Tampa three weeks ago. He has won $121,905 so far this year.

Glover has an exemption to the Masters through the 2014 tournament by virtue of his US Open victory in 2009.

Ten different golfers with ties to Clemson have played in the Masters. The history dates to 1977 when ACC Champion Parker Moore played in the event as an amateur after finishing as the runner up at the United States Amateur. Moore’s appearance in the Masters came the year after he graduated from Clemson.

Three golfers have played in the Masters while they were students at Clemson. That includes Ben Martin, who played as an amateur last year after finishing as the runnerup at the 2009 US Amateur. Chris Patton (1990) and D.J. Trahan (2001) also did it. Patton is the only amateur with ties to Clemson to make the cut at the Masters, as he finished 39th in 1990 with a 296 score. He was actually the first golfer with ties to Clemson to make the cut at The Masters.

Six former or current Tigers have made the cut at the Masters. Jonathan Byrd was eighth in 2003. In 2007, Lucas Glover finished 20th in his second career Masters, and in 2009 Trahan finished 44th with a 293 score. Glover finished 44th last year.

Pruitt had a 68 in the second round in the 1992 Masters and a 69 in the final round that same year for the top two rounds for a former Tiger at the Masters. That is the last time a former Tiger shot in the 60s at the Masters. His 282 score is also the top tournament score by a former Clemson golfer at the event. Byrd’s eighth place finish in 2003 is the top finish by a former Clemson golfer at The Masters.