April 6, 1998

Next Tee Time For Clemson
Clemson will travel to the BELLSOUTH Yellow Pages Intercollegiate this weekend. The event will be played MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary, NC. The course is a par 72 that is 6,776 yards in length. A field of 10 teams will play 36 holes on Friday, April 10th and the final 18 holes will be played on Saturday, April 11.

In addition to Clemson, ACC teams Duke, Virginia, Wake Forest, NC State and North Carolina will be taking part. UNLV, Western Kentucky, BYU and Texas A&M give the field a national flavor.

Clemson is the defending champion in the event. The Tigers posted a score of 855 last year, winning by seven strokes over UNLV. Richard Coughlan, now on the PGA Tour, led the Tigers with a career best 210 score and took medalist honors. Charles Warren played even par golf for the 54 holes and finished 8th, while Elliot Gealy was one-over and was 13th. Joey Maxon finished 25th with a 221 and Jonathan Byrd was 30th at 222.

Rankings
Clemson is ranked fourth in the latest Rolex Collegiate Golf Poll released on April 1. The top 20 teams in the nation according to the ranking are: 1. UNLV, 2. Arizona, 3. Georgia Tech, 4. Clemson, 5. Houston, 6. TCU, 7. Arkansas, 8. Oklahoma State, 9. Florida, 10. Georgia, 11. North Carolina, 12. South Carolina, 13. Augusta State 14. Arizona State, 15. East Tennessee State, 16. Colorado State, 17. Virginia, 18. NC State, 19. BYU 20. Southern Cal

Other rankings for ACC schools include: 25. Florida State, 31. Wake Forest, 40. Duke

Individual Rankings

Golfstat Cup (March 23, 1998)
Charles Warren, 14th, 71.37 adjusted stroke average
Jonathan Byrd, 33rd, 71.68 adjusted stroke average
John Engler, 38th, 71.86 adjusted stroke average

Mastercard Individual Rankings
Jonathan Byrd 26th, 113.532
Charles Warren, 29th, 99.943
John Engler, 52nd, 67.800
Joey Maxon, 77th, 48.854

Clemson in Golfstat National Statistics 
(As of March 23, 1998)
Overall Individual Rankings
    *John Engler, 1st, Greens in regulation, .845
    *John Engler, 4th, Fairways hit, .894
    *Charles Warren, 8th, Fairways hit, .826
    *Charles Warren, 6th, Greens in regulation, .725
    *Charles Warren, 10th, par 4 scoring, 4.05
    *Jonathan Byrd, 10th, Total Short game, .667
Team Rankings
    *Fourth in Subpar strokes/round,  3.37
    *9th Par 4 Scoring
    *Third in Par 5 scoring,  4.77

Team Sets Record for Sub 280 Rounds
Clemson posted a 279 team score in the second round of the Cuscowilla Intercollegiate and set a school season record in the process. It marked the fifth time this year that Clemson had posted a team score under 280 for an individual round, the most in a season in Clemson history.

It broke the record of four sub-280 rounds set by Clemson's 1986-87 team. That team featured Kevin Johnson and Chris Patton, a pair of first-team All-Americans. Larry Penley's Tigers had three players in the 60s for the day's work as Charles Warren and Lucas Glover shot 68s and Jonathan Byrd fired a 69. The Tigers added a 280 team score in the final round.

Clemson's top round this year took place on September 16, the second round of the season, when the Tigers had a 273 team score for the second round of the Palmetto Classic. The -15 team score included rounds of 67 by Elliot Gealy and Charles Warren and a 67 by Jonathan Byrd. Joey Maxon's 71 also counted toward the team score that established an all-time school record for team round.

The Tigers also had a 274 at Mauna Kea, a 278 at Golf Digest and a 279 at Golf World. All of those were recorded on par 72 layouts.

1998 Tigers Chasing All the Records
The 1998 Clemson golf team is in the hunt for many school records. The most noteworthy is team stroke average. The Tigers have a 71.98 team stroke average (counting top four scores each round). That stroke average is ahead of the record pace set by the 1988-89 Tigers, a team that had a 72.61 average for the season. That club featured All-Americans Chris Patton and Kevin Johnson.

Only three teams in Clemson history have had lower than a 73.0 stroke average for an entire season. The others were 1992-93 (72.87), and 1991-92 (72.92). This year's Clemson team has a record five players with averages of 73.24 or better.

This Clemson team is also in range of setting marks for most first or second-place finishes, most individual rounds under par, most individual top 10 finishes, most rounds in the 60s and most individual rounds at par or better.

The chart below shows that this Clemson team needs just five more rounds in the 60s to set the school record for a single season. The team is also on pace to set records for top 10 finishes and rounds under par.

Records in Range
    Category                            Records, Year   1998
    Stroke Average                      72.61 (1989)    71.98
    1st or 2nd place finishes           8 (1987)        6
    Individual under par rounds         58 (1989)       44
    Rounds par or better                78 (1989)       58
    Individual Top 10 Finishes          22 many         16
    Rounds in the 60s                   27 (1989)       23

Warren Climbing up Career Charts
Charles Warren's number-two finish at the Cuscowilla Intercollegiate in March was his 19th top 10 finish as a Tiger, which tied him for third in Clemson history in that category. One of the players he is tied with is Richard Coughlan, who had 19 top 10 finishes between 1993-97. Nicky Goetze also had 19 top 10 finishes (1989-93).

Warren is also moving up the career lists in terms of rounds in the 60s (18), a figure that is currently third behind Patton (30) and Kevin Johnson (22). Warren is also currently eighth in rounds of par or better (47) and fourth in rounds under par (37). He moved ahead of Coughlan (34) in the Cuscowilla Invitational. His 73.34 career stroke average is is sixth best in Clemson history, trailing only Chris Patton (72.71), Kevin Johnson (72.86), teammate Jonathan Byrd (73.11), and former teammate Richard Coughlan (73.28).

Glover Joins Exclusive Company
Freshman Lucas Glover joined an exclusive group of Clemson freshmen when he earned co-medalist honors at the Carpet Classic at the Farm April 3-5. Glover shot a 212 for the three rounds, a season best four-under-par. He fired consistent rounds of 69-71-72 in becoming just the second freshman in 11 years to win a tournament for the Tigers.

Glover became just the fifth freshman in Clemson history to win a tournament. Jimmy White won two events, the South Carolina Intercollegiate and the College of Charleston Invitational in 1974-75 as a freshman. Tony Nimmer won the South Carolina Intercollegiate in his freshman year, 1979-80. Chris Patton won co-medalist honors at the Gamecock Invitational in 1986-87, his freshman season. Teammate Jonathan Byrd won the Puerto Rico Classic last year as a freshman.

Glover is ahead of Patton's Clemson's freshman record of 73.55. Clemson's native of Greenville has a 72.50 average at the moment, so he is a full stroke better than Patton's mark. That 72.50 stroke average would be sixth best in Clemson history.

Maxon Showing Consistency
Senior Joey Maxon has been Clemson's most consistent golfer of the spring. The native of Dover, DE has four top 16 finishes in his last five tournament, including three top 10 finishes. He is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Carpet Classic, his top finish of theseason. He had a season low 215 for the three days, his first under par tournament since the Carpet Classic in 1996. He had a 213 at that event in finishing second overall.

Maxon has had rounds of 75 or better in 15 of his last 16 trips around the course. He has been at 73 or under in nine of his last 13 rounds.

Maxon started the streak with an eighth-place finish in Mauna Kea when he shot a 216 total in the last tournament of the fall. He had a 216 at Puerto Rico, Clemson's best score of the event, then had a 218 at the Golf Digest, good enough for 16th place. He had rounds of 75-74-73 at the Cuscowilla Intercollegiate.

Maxon has a 73.24 average for this year, improved over his 74.37 average of last year. Maxon was an honorable mention All-American and first-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore. For his career, Maxon has a 74.24 average for 113 rounds and 40 tournaments. The Carpet Classic was his 11th career top 10 finish, his second at the Carpet Classic. Maxon now has three under-par tournaments in his career, two have been at the Carpet Classic.

Byrd Has Six Top 10 Finishes
There is a new stroke average leader on the Clemson stat sheet and it is Sophomore Jonathan Byrd. The native of Columbia had his sixth Top 10 finish this season, best on the team, when he finished fourth at the Carpet Classic. It was his third straight top 10, and his second straight fourth place finish. Four has been the number for Byrd this year as he has finished in fourth place, in four different tournaments.

At the Carpet Classic, Byrd had his second straight model of consistency showing. He had rounds of 73-71-70 after ronds of 70-69-71 at the Cuscowilla Invitational. Prior to that he was two-under par at the Golf Digest. That means Byrd is -2 for his last nine rounds combined. For the entire academic year Byrd is just nine over par.

This is the first week all season someone other than Charles Warren is atop the Clemson scoring statistics. Both are natives of Columbia. Byrd has eight rounds in the 60s best on the Clemson team and already tied for second in Clemson history for a single season. He has a 72.00 average for the season and now stands at 73.11 for his career, third best in Clemson history.

Byrd is trying to become just the third player in Clemson history to average under 72.0 for a season. The only two to do it previously are Chris Patton and Dillard Pruitt. Patton had a 71.85 in 1988-89 and Pruitt had a 71.94 in 1983-84.

Byrd has a 73.11 stroke average for his career and now has 12 Top 10 finishes in his 22 tournament career. He is among an elite few Clemson players who have finished in the top 10 in 50 percent of their tournaments.

    Clemson Career Stroke Average Leaders
        (Minimum 50 rounds)
    Rk  Name                Yrs     Rds Stks    Avg
    1.  Chris Patton        1986-90 139 10,106  72.71
    2.  Kevin Johnson       1985-89 147 10,711  72.86
    3.  Jonathan Byrd       1996-98 65  4,752   73.11
    4.  Nicky Goetze        1989-93 159 11,638  73.19
    5.  Richard Coughlan    1993-97 144 10,552  73.28
    6.  Charles Warren      1994-98 131 9,608   73.34
    7.  Dillard Pruitt      1980-84 125 9,180   73.44
    8.  Clarence Rose       1978-80 61  4,500   73.77
    9.  Danny Ellis         1989-93 138 10,181  73.78

Penley Captures 36th Tournament Title
Clemson head coach Larry Penley won his 36th career tournament as head coach of the Tigers when his squad won the Carpet Classic at The Farm April 3-5. It might have been the strongest regular season tournament championship of his career as the field included 11 of the top 20 teams in the nation according to the Mastercard rating.

Penley is in his 15th year as the head coach of the Tigers, so he is averaging over two tournament victories per season. Clemson also won the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in the fall and has finished second in four other events. For his career he has 36 first-place finishes and 34 second place finishes. That is 70 first or runner up finishes in 177 events.

This spring he hopes to lead Clemson to a 15th straight NCAA national tournament competition. Clemson has 11 top 20 finishes, including nine top 15 finishes in his career.

Clemson Spring Review

Clemson Finishes 6th at Puerto Rico Classic
Joey Maxon finished sixth overall and Clemson finished sixth as a team at the Puerto Rico Classic at Rio Mar River Course in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clemson shot a 22-over-par 886 for the 54-hole event, just one shot back of Minnesota and Columbus State.

North Carolina made up 13 strokes on NC State and won the event with an 11 over par 875. Georgia Tech and the Pack tied at 877, 13 over par.

Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech won the individual honors after defeating Wilfredo Morales of Columbus State in a playoff. Both golfers shot a 208, eight-under par.

Maxon was the top Tiger after rounds of 69-72-75. His even par 216 total was his highest finish of the season. Jonathan Byrd was Clemson's second highest finisher after a 68 in the final round. The sophomore, who won this event last year, finished 22nd.

Charles Warren and John Engler each had 226 scores to finish in a tie for 27th, while Chad Starliper was at 230 and finished 44th.

Clemson Finishes Fourth at Golf Digest
Jonathan Byrd led the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the Golf Digest Collegiate in Las Vegas, March 13-15. Clemson scored a six-over-par 870 on the Desert Inn Course. Byrd had a 54-hole total of 214, two-under-par.

Despite the 10th-place individual finish, Byrd had an up and down event for the Tigers. He had rounds of 65 and 69 to open the Tournament and his 10-under-par score after two rounds was equal to Kevin Johnson's all-time Clemson record for a 54-hole tournament, 10-under at the 1987 Homberg Invitational.

But, Byrd struggled to an 80 on the final day and finished with the two-under-par score, still an accomplishment considering the field included 15 of the top 25 college teams in the nation. The native of Columbia was just one shot out of the lead with his 134 score after two rounds.

Joey Maxon continued his consistent play and shot a 218, two-over-par, good enough for 16th place while Charles Warren had a 220, four-over-par and finished 24th. Warren opened with a 69, but followed with rounds of 77 and 74. Freshman John Engler was 26th with a 221 total and Elliot Gealy, playing just his second tournament of the year, was 58th with a 228 figure.

Warren, Tigers Second at Cuscowilla
Defending National Champion Charles Warren led Clemson to a second-place finish at the Cuscowilla Intercollegiate at Eatonton, GA March 23-24. The senior fired a final round 66 and concluded the 54-hole event with a 208 score.

Warren took runnerup honors in the tournament, three strokes behind Ross Bain of North Carolina, who birdied three of the last five holes to finish with a 65 and a 205 overall score. For Warren, the 66 score tied his career best round and it was his best score since shooting a 66 at the Wofford Invitational his freshman year.

Jonathan Byrd had his most consistent tournament of the spring, firing scores of 70-69-71 for a 210 total. The even par tournament allowed the native of Columbia to finish in fourth place. It was the fourth straight tournament in which Byrd had posted at least one round in the 60s.

Lucas Glover, making his first appearance of the spring, had rounds of 70 and 68 to open the tournament and was in second place heading into the final round. He closed with a 77, but his 215 total was still good enough for 15th.

North Carolina won the event with an 841 score, while Clemson's 847 score was second. The 847 score was tied for third best in Clemson history, however the Cuscowilla Course does play to a par 70 and thus the team had a +7 score.

ACC Teams had the top five spots in the event. After North Carolina and Clemson were Georgia Tech, Duke, and NC State. Wake Forest finished in a tie for seventh.

Clemson Wins Carpet Capital Classic
Greenville's Lucas Glover Takes Co-Medalist Honors

Dalton, GA--Lucas Glover earned co-medalist honors to lead fourth-ranked Clemson to the team championship at the Carpet Capital Classic at The Farm in Dalton, GA. The field of 18 teams included 11 of the top 20 teams in the nation. Clemson posted a team score of 855, 10 strokes better than ACC rival and host school Georgia Tech. It was Clemson's second team championship of the season, as it also won the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in the Fall.

It was quite a prestigious victory for Glover, a native of Greenville, who attended Wade Hampton High School. The field included 19 of the 30 preseason All-Americans for 1998 and the reigning US Amateur Champion, US Publinx Champion, the NCAA Champion and the NCAA runnerup.

Glover shot a 72 on Sunday and finished at 212, four-under par for the 54 holes. He shot par or under in all three rounds and now has a season stroke average of 72.50, a full stroke ahead of Chris Patton's Clemson freshman record for a season.

He tied with Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech this weekend. No playoff was held, so the competitors are considered co-medalists. Glover becomes the fifth freshman in Clemson history to claim medalist honors at any tournament, just the second in the last 10 years. Teammate Jonathan Byrd won the Puerto Rico Classic last year, his freshman year.

Clemson was outstanding as a team throughout the event, posting team scores under par in each round, the first time the Tigers have done that since the 1993 NCAA East Regional at Charlottesville, VA. Clemson led from wire to wire and had the top score each day.

Georgia Tech finished second with its 865 score 10 strokes behind the Tigers, while Houston was third at 877. Auburn was fourth at 878 and Georgia fifth at 881. TCU finished sixth at 883 and South Carolina was seventh at 885, 30 strokes behind the Tigers.

Clemson had three of the top 10 finishers in the tournament, and all three were under-par. It was the first time in five years that Clemson had three players under par in the same tournament. Sophomore Jonathan Byrd of Columbia, SC had a 70 on Sunday and finished with a 214 total, tying Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech, the defending US Amateur Champion for fourth place.

Joey Maxon, a senior from Dover, DE, also had a 70 on Sunday and finished with a 215 score, one-under par and good enough for sixth place in the field of 90 golfers. Freshman John Engler had a 72 on Sunday, meaning Clemson did not have to count a score over par on Sunday.

Engler, from Augusta, GA, had a 220 score for the event, good enough for 15th place. Among the players he tied were All-American Brad Elder of Texas and defending US Publinx Champion Tim Clark of NC State. Charles Warren, Clemson's defending NCAA Champion, had a 75 on Sunday and finished with a 228 score for the event.