CUTrevor
2021-04-26 07:57:37
Atlanta, GA—Colby Patton made a four-foot putt birdie putt
on the second playoff hole to win his match and give Clemson a 3-1-1 victory
over NC State in the semifinals of the ACC Men’s Golf Championship at the
Capital City Crabapple Course in Atlanta, Ga.
The Tigers will face Florida State in the championship match on Monday
at the same facility. The first match
will begin at 9:00 a.m. The Seminoles defeated North Carolina in the other semifinal,
4-1. The Tar Heels had won the 54-hole
stroke play qualifier by 15 strokes over Clemson, and 31 shots over Florida
State. Clemson and Florida State are
the two highest ranked teams in the ACC according to Golfstat. The Tigers are fourth and Florida State is
second. Clemson led most of the match with NC State, but the margin
was close. Kyle Cottam got Clemson on
the board with a 3 & 2 victory over
Easton Paxton. Cottam had a 4-up lead
after 10 holes, but Paxton cut the margin to 2-up by winning the 14th
hole of the match. Cottam then won the
15th hole with a par and closed out the match with a par on the 16th
hole of the match, the seventh hole on the course. Just five minutes
after that match ended, Maximilian Steinlechner won final hole to beat
Clemson’s Zach Gordon 1-up. Gordon,
Clemson’s number-five player, stayed with the nation’s 47th ranked
player the entire match and even had a 2-up lead at one point. Clemson took a 2-1 lead when Jacob Bridgeman closed out NC
State’s best player 24th ranked Benjamin Shipp with a birdie on the
17th hole of the match to win 2 & 1. Bridgeman had taken a 4-up lead on the
opening nine, but Shipp battled back to cut the margin to 1-up with two to
play. But, Bridgeman made a 22-foot
birdie putt on the eighth hole to win. Patton and Carter Graf were in a tight match all day. They were tied after 12 of the 20 holes they
played. With the match tied, Graf made
an incredible up and down from 80 yards out left of the hole. He had hit his second shot in the middle of
the eighth fairway. But he made a 10 foot
par putt, forcing Patton to make a five footer to force extra holes. The reverse happened on the first playoff hole, the 10th
hole on the course, when Patton hit a wayward second shot. But, he got up and down by making a 12-foot
par putt that had a foot of break in it. Patton put the match away with a birdie on the 11th
hole, the 20th hole of the match.
“I knew if I could just made a birdie I could win this match,” said
Patton, son of former Clemson All-American and US Amateur Champion Chris
Patton. “ But I just couldn’t put him
(Graf) away. “Finally, I hit it down
the middle on 11 and had 116 yards to the pin.
I hit a good wedge shot to within four feet and made the putt to win.” “That was some performance by Colby,” said Penley. “He hit a great shot on 11 to have a short
birdie putt, but the par on the first playoff hole was amazing. What an up and down.” Clemson and Florida State have played in the same tournament
four times this year with each team coming out ahead twice. The stroke difference is just 16 shots in
favor of Clemson. 2021 ACC Men’s Golf
Tournament Semifinal Clemson 3, NC State
1, tied 1 April 25, 2021 At Capital City
Crabapple Course, Atlanta, Ga. 1.
Colby Patton (Clem) d. Carter Graff (NCS) 20
holes 2.
Maximilian Steinlechner (NCS) d. Zach Gordon, 1
up 3.
Jacob Bridgeman (Clem) d. Benjamin Shipp, 2
& 1 4.
Turk Pettit (Clemson) vs. Christian Salazar,
tied (18 holes) 5.
Kyle Cottam d. Easton Paxton, 3& 2. Clemson advances to ACC Championship match on Monday vs.
Florida State. |