June 2, 2003

Clemson was ranked first in the nation in the final Sagarin/Golfweek computer rankings released on Monday. D.J. Trahan, Jack Ferguson and Matt Hendrix were all ranked in the top 10 of the final individual rankings. It marked the first time Clemson has had three of the top 10 players in the final computer rankings.

Clemson, who one the school's first golf national championship on the course last Friday at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, OK, is a full rating point ahead of second place Florida. Clemson had a 69.67 final team rating, ahead of Florida's 70.67. The distance between Clemson and Florida in the poll rating is greater than the distance between Florida and 16th place Minnesota, who has a 71.60 ranking, an indication of Clemson's dominance this year. Clemson had a 115-8-3 record against the other top 25 teams this year and an overall record of 183-8-3, the best winning percentage (.950) in Clemson history. Clemson had 115 wins over top 25 teams and the second best total was the 80 turned in by Wake Forest and Oklahoma State.

Trahan finished second in the Sagarin/Golfweek computer ranking for the second straight year. He had a nation leading 82 wins over top 25 players, 12 more than teammate Ferguson, who was second with 70 top 25 wins. Hunter Mahan of Oklahoma State was ranked first with a 68.69 rating, while Trahan was second at 69.22. Ferguson, who improved his stroke average by over three shots per round this year, was ranked fifth in the nation with a 69.62 figure, while Matt Hendrix was ninth at 69.89.

ACC players Bill Haas of Wake Forest (third) and Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech (fourth) were also in the top 10, giving the ACC four of the top five and five of the top 10 players in the nation according to the rankings.

Gregg Jones, who was a first-team All-ACC golfer for the Tigers this year, was ranked 41st in the final rankings. Senior Ben Duncan, who made a significant contribution to Clemson's championship with three counting scores in the four days in Stillwater, was ranked 144th in the final rankings.

While Trahan begins his professional career on the PGA Tour this weekend, Ferguson, Hendrix and Jones all return next season. All three have been All-Americans at some time or another in their careers at Clemson. The 2003-04 Clemson team will be the first in school history with three returning first, second or third team All-Americans.

Final Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings
        Rk      School                  Points
        1.      Clemson                 69.67
        2.      Florida                 70.67
        3.      Wake Forest             70.76
        4.      Oklahoma State          70.81
        5.      Texas                   70.90
        6.      Augusta State           70.94
        7.      Arizona                 70.98
        8.      UCLA                    71.05
        9.      UNLV                    71.14
        10.     North Carolina          71.17
        11.     TCU                     71.23
        12.     Georgia Tech            71.33
        13.     Georgia                 71.36
        14.     Auburn                  71.40
        15.     Arizona State           71.56
        16.     Minnesota               71.60
        17.     North Carolina State    71.72
        18.     New Mexico              71.81
        19.     Washington              71.83
        20.     College of Charleston   71.90
        21.     Tennessee               71.90
        22.     Illinois                71.90
        23.     Southern Cal            72.04
        24.     Arkansas                72.05
        25.     Duke                    72.08


                Final Individual Rankings
        Rk      Player, School                          Points
        1.      Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma St.              68.69
        2.      D.J. Trahan, Clemson                    69.22
        3.      Bill Haas, Wake Forest                  69.57
        4.      Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech             69.60
        5.      Jack Ferguson, Clemson                  69.62
        6.      Ricky Barnes, Arizona                   69.65
        7.      Brandt Snedeker, Vanderbilt             69.82
        8.      Nick Watney, Fresno State               69.83
        9.      Matt Hendrix, Clemson                   69.89
        10.     Chris Nallen, Arizona                   69.95
        11.     Alejandro Canizares, Arizona St.        70.00
        12.     Oliver Wilson, Augusta State            70.03
        13.     Brock MacKenzie, Washington             70.06
        14.     Dustin Bray, North Carolina             70.09
        15.     Jason Hartwick, Texas                   70.14
        16.     Camilo Villegas, Florida                70.16
        17.     Ryan Moore, UNLV                        70.17
        18.     Justin Walters, NC State                70.19
        19.     David Inglis, Tulsa                     70.19
        20.     Michael Letzig, New Mexico              70.27
        41.     Gregg Jones, Clemson                    71.03