Columbia, S.C.—Former Clemson All-American and NCAA Champion Charles Warren has been named to the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame. Warren will be joined in the class by former Golf Channel personality Kelly Tilghman when the class is inducted in January. The announcement was made by South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame President Frank Ford III.
Warren has to rank among the most decorated golfers in the history of the sport in the state of South Carolina when you consider his junior, high school, college, amateur and professional career.
Introduced to the game by his grandfather, he learned the fundamentals from Hall of Fame pro Grant Bennett and honed his on-course expertise from pro Joey Graham.
He won the state high school championship at A.C. Flora, the acclaimed Southern Cross junior tournament, the Carolinas Amateur, and the South Carolina Amateur.
At Clemson he became the first and still only Tiger golfer to win the NCAA Championship. He won the 1997 NCAAs at Conway Farms just outside of Chicago with a final round 67, defeating a field that included future noted professionals Rory Sabbatini, Tim Clark, J.J. Henry, Pat Perez, Ryan Armour and Ryan Palmer. The later three are competing in the Fedex Cup Playoffs this weekend near Boston.
In addition to winning the 1997 NCAAs, Warren finished second at the 1998 tournament in Albuquerque, helping the Tigers to a then program best second-place national finish. He won the Dave Williams Award as the top player in the nation in 1998, and was honored as the South Carolina Amateur Athlete of the Year by the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
Warren won the ACC Tournament twice, the only Tiger to win the conference event more than once. He was a three-time All-American and three-time All-ACC selection.
As a professional, Warren won three Nationwide Tour events and played on the PGA Tour for eight seasons. He ranked in the top 100 on tour money with over $1 million in earnings in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He led the PGA Tour in ball striking in 2010.
Warren was named to the ACC 50-Year Anniversary men’s golf team in 2003 and was the first Clemson golfer inducted into the school’s Ring of Honor in 2009.
Since retiring from the PGA Tour in 2012, Warren has worked in commercial insurance and is currently a vice president for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. He has also been instrumental in fund-raising efforts for the Clemson golf program, statewide junior golf and The First Tee Program. He serves on the board of the Upstate First Tee and had been a member of the Players’ Advisory Council for both the PGA and Web.com Tours.
