Clemson, S.C.—Kelley Hester’s Clemson Tigers open the 2022-23 season Monday at Yeamans Hall Golf Club in Charleston, SC at the Cougar Classic. It will be Clemson’s seventh appearance at the tournament that is an annual fall event featuring prominent programs from the south and midwest.
Clemson is one of six ACC teams in the 18-team field, as Louisville, 11th ranked Florida State, Miami (FL), North Carolina and NC State also will compete. SEC teams include Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky, while the Big 10 will be represented by Penn State, Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
The three-day, 54-hole event is played in a shotgun format on the par-71 layout with all golfers teeing off at 8:30 a.m. Clemson will be paired with Tennessee and North Carolina.
Clemson’s lineup includes three veterans and two newcomers. Melena Barrientos is a sophomore from Plano, Texas who led Clemson in stroke average last year with a 73.70 figure. She finished sixth at the Cougar Classic last year thanks to three consecutive rounds under-par.
Annabelle Pancake is coming off a terrific summer in which she finished second at the Western Amateur and reached the Final 16 of the US Amateur. She had a 74.92 stroke average last year, third on the team. The native of Zionsville, Indiana is a two-time winner of the Indiana Women’s Amateur.
Savannah Grewal is the only senior in the Clemson lineup. The native of Ontario, Canada was second on the team in stroke average with a 74.44 last year and is sixth in Clemson history in career stroke average. She had a top 10 in the 2022 NCAA Regional in Stillwater, Okla. in her last appearance for Clemson. She also had a busy summer and reached the second round of match play at the US Amateur.
The two newcomers in the Clemson lineup are Chloe Holder and Sydney Roberts. Holder is a transfer from Augusta University where she posted six top 20 finishes last year as a freshman. That includes medalist honors in her first career tournament, the Mercedes Benz Invitational in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Roberts was the 2A Player of the Year in South Carolina last year and was ranked as the second-best overall player in the state. She won an incredible 17 tournaments during her high school career in Chesnee, SC.
Live scoring will be available on golfstat.com.
