Young Leads Clemson to First Place at Furman

Greenville, S.C.—Carson Young became the first Clemson golfer on record to record eagles on consecutive holes and went on to a four-under par 68 to lead Clemson to a 276 team score and the team lead after two rounds of the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C.

Clemson has an 11 shot lead over USC Aiken entering the final round of the 21-team tournament at the Furman University Golf Course.   The Tigers stand at 20-under par 556 through 36 holes, 11 shots ahead of USC Aiken, who shot a 280 team score on Saturday.

Clemson has four of the top 10 golfers in the tournament through 36 holes. Young leads the Tigers with a fourth place standing after scoring a 138 for the first two rounds. Freshman Doc Redman stands in eighth place at 139, while Bryson Nimmer and William Nottingham are tied for ninth at 140.

Young made an eagle on the 559-yard par five 11th hole when he drove his ball into the fairway, then hit a three wood to within six feet of the pin. He made the short putt for an eagle three. With the tees moved up on the par four 12th hole, he hit his drive to the front fringe of the green, then made an 80-foot putt for an eagle two.

Young had made just four career eagles over his first 96 rounds at Clemson, then made them on consecutive holes on Saturday. Young went from even par to four under in those two holes, then made two birdies and two bogeys over his final six holes.   His 68 was just one shot off his career best round and it was the 29th under-par round of his career.

Redman also had a four-under-par 68 on Saturday. He began the round with a bogey, then played the last 17 holes at five under par. He did not make a bogey over the last 17 holes and had a streak of three straight birdies on holes 10-11-12.

Nimmer and Austin Langdale contributed rounds of two-under-par 70 to Clemson’s team score on Saturday. Nimmer had six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on Saturday, while Langdale had seven birdies, two bogeys and a triple bogey on the par three eighth hole.   Like Young, it was the 29th career under-par round for Langdale, who went over 300 career birdies on Friday.

Nottingham, Clemson’s best golfer on Friday with a 69, shot a solid one under par 71 on Saturday, but was the team’s non-counter. Josh Fickes is playing the tournament as an individual and shot a 71 on Saturday, giving him a two day total of four under par 140.

All 21 teams are schedule for a shot gun start on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. but the that could change depending on overnight weather conditions.