Clemson, S.C.—Clemson begins play as the No. 3 seed at the Bryan Regional on Monday.    The three-day 54-hole event will be played at The Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.  The course is a par 72 that is 7121 yards in length.   The top five schools in the 13-team tournament will advance to the NCAA national Tournament in Stillwater, Okla. May 25-30.

Clemson tee times and live scoring results will be on golfstat.com. LINK

Joining Clemson in the Bryan Regional will be No. 1 seed and host school Texas A&M, the third ranked team in the nation.  Baylor is seed No. 2, followed by the Tigers.  Kentucky is seeded fourth, UCLA is fifth and Mississippi is sixth.  Clemson’s  in-state rival South Carolina is seeded seventh.   

San Francisco is seeded eighth, followed by Georgia, Mississippi State, UNC Wilmington, Northern Colorado and Bradley.     The SEC had 12 teams selected for the NCAA tournaments across the nation and six of the 12 will be in Clemson’s regional.

“It is a tough regional and we will have to play well to advance,” said Penley.  “There are some teams seeded below us who have played well lately, which makes it tougher to advance.  Our young players will have to play well.  If they do we have a chance to win the regional and that is our mindset.”

This is Clemson’s 37th straight year in the NCAA Tournament, the 35th in a row under Penley.  Penley has the longest running streak of NCAA appearances among active coaches and Clemson’s 37-year program streak is second behind Oklahoma State.  Penley has won seven NCAA Regional tournaments, more than any other coach.

Clemson enters the NCAA Tournament on a streak of five consecutive tournaments with a second-place finish or better.  The Tigers won the Puerto Rico Classic and the Irish Creek Invitational and had second-place finishes at the Bandon Dunes Championship in Oregon, the Clemson Invitational and the ACC Championship.   Clemson has a 93-22-2 record against the field in its nine tournaments this academic year, 80 percent mark.

The Tigers have a 70.87 team stroke average, on pace to be the best in Clemson history.  Three Clemson players have a stroke average of 70.60 or better, also a first in school history.    Clemson players have combined for 18 top 10 finishes.  The Tigers will take three freshmen, a junior and a sophomore to the NCAA Tournament.   Clemson’s top three players are all ranked in the top 50 according to Golfweek.

Turk Pettit has the top stroke average at 70.48 for his 27 rounds.  The freshman from Auburn, Ala. has five top 10 finishes, 10 rounds in the 60s and 17 rounds under par.  All five of his top 10s have been top three finishes, including a victory at the Irish Creek Invitational.  Ranked No. 30 by Golfweek, Pettit finished third at the Carpet Classic and second at the Puerto Rico Classic against national fields.

Bryson Nimmer, ranked 29th nationally by Golfstat, is second on the team in stroke average at 70.52.  The junior has just one more stroke than Pettit over the same amount of rounds (27).  Nimmer has a team best six top 10 finishes, including an eighth-place finish at the ACC Championship, his third straight top 10 at the conference tournament.  He also has nine rounds in the 60s and 16 under-par rounds this year.

Doc Redman has played just five tournaments this year.  The sophomore won the United States Amateur last August, which gave him the opportunity to play in three PGA events, including The Masters.  Ranked 47th by Golfweek, Redman made the cut in two PGA Tour events, the first Clemson student to make the cut at  a PGA Tour event in 28 years.

When playing for Clemson, Redman has a 70.60 stroke average.  He is coming off a second-place finish at the ACC Tournament where he shot a 202, 14-under-par, the best score and score vs. par in Clemson history in the ACC Tournament.

Two more freshmen will be in the Clemson lineup for the NCAA regional.  Kyle Cottam has a 72.30 stroke average and has played in all nine events.  He has two top 10 finishes and is coming off a two-under-par performance at the ACC Tournament.   Colby Patton has a 72.75 stroke average for his eight tournaments.  His top performance was a seventh-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic, which helped the Tigers to the tournament title.

Clemson, S.C.—Doc Redman and Colby Patton each had rounds of  two-under-par 70 to lead Clemson to a 283 team score and a third-place standing after the first round of the NCAA Bryan Regional.    Clemson stands just four shots behind host school and No. 1 seed Texas A&M and just one shot behind second-place Baylor.  

Most importantly, the Tigers are 11 shots ahead of the  cutline entering the second round on Tuesday.  The tournament runs for three days and 54 holes through Wednesday.  The top five teams in the 13-team regional will move on to the NCAA national Championship in Stillwater, Okla. May 25.

Redman had six birdies and four bogeys on the way to his 10th under-par round in just 19 total rounds this year.   He stands in seventh place after the first round.   Patton had four birdies and two bogeys on Monday, including a three-under-par 33 on the back nine.   He had birdies on holes 13, 15, and 18 in scoring his seventh under-par round of the year.

Bryson Nimmer, Clemson’s No. 2 player, had a one-under-par 71 thanks to three  birdies and two bogeys.  The three-time All-ACC player had his 17th under-par round of the year.

Turk Pettit, Clemson’s scoring average leader this year at  70.48 this year,  had an even par 72 on Saturday, but he finished strong with consecutive birdies on the 17thand 18th holes.  Kyle Cottam had four birdies, but shot 73.

Live scoring is available on golfstat.com.

Team Scores

1.  Texas A&M 279, 2.  Baylor 282,  3.  Clemson 283, 4.  UCLA 288, 5.  South Carolina 293,  6.  Mississippi 294, 7.  Bradley 295, 8.  Kentucky 298, 9.  Mississippi State 300, 10.  Georgia 303,  11.  San Francisco 304, 12.  UNC Wilmington and Northern Colorado 306.

Clemson Individuals

7.  Doc Redman 70,  7.  Colby Patton 70,  12.  Bryson Nimmer 71,  19.  Turk Pettit 72,  24.  Kyle Cottam  73.

Clemson, S.C.—Freshman Turk Pettit  fired a seven-under-par 65,  a school record tying performance in the NCAA Tournament, and sophomore All-American Doc Redman added a 67 to lead Clemson to a  12-under-par  276 team score and second-place team standing after two rounds of the NCAA Bryan Regional.   

The Tigers are just one shot behind No. 1 seed and host school Texas A&M.  The Tigers are 20 shots ahead of the five-team cutline entering the Wednesday’s final round on the par 72 Traditions Golf Club Course.

Texas A&M has an 18-under-par score of 558  through two rounds, while Clemson is just a shot back at 559.  Baylor, seeded second in the 13-team regional, stands at 570 and UCLA is fourth at 576. Mississippi is fifth at 579 and South Carolina is sixth at 587.     The top five teams advance to the NCAA National Tournament in Stillwater, Okla. on May 25.

Clemson’s team score of 12-under-par 276 on Tuesday is the school’s second best team round in NCAA play.  The Tigers had a 15-under-par 273 in the third round of the regional at Williamsburg, Virginia in 2001 behind future PGA players Lucas Glover, John Engler and D.J. Trahan.

Pettit, who was playing high school golf in Auburn, Ala. at this time last year, had eight birdies and one bogey on the way to his 65.  His seven-under figure was the best score vs. par in the NCAA Tournament by a Clemson golfer since 1994 when Mark Swygert had a seven-under 65 in McKinney, Texas.   Kyle Stanley had a 65 on par 70 course in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2007 when he finished second individually behind current PGA Tour player Jamie Lovemark.

Pettit had an opening round 72 and stands in third place individually entering Wednesday’s final round.  He trails Chandler Phillips and Brandon Smith, both of Texas A&M, by just one shot.

“We got off to a slow start, then everyone started making birdies,” said head Coach Larry Penley, who is seeking to take a team to the NCAA National Tournament for the fourth year in a row and 28th time overall.    “I was a little nervous until Doc (Redman) rolled in a birdie on the second hole that changed our momentum.”

Right about that time Pettit got hot with his irons and made four consecutive birdies and five out of six to close the front nine with a 32.  He then made three birdies in a row on the back on holes 13-15.  “Most of the birdies were on putts from inside 10 feet,” said Pettit.  “I was hitting my irons (well) today.  I had to chip in on No. 4 from 20 feet, but all the others were 10 footers or less.”

Pettit set a career high for birdies in a round with eight and tied the Clemson team best this year.  Bryson Nimmer had eight birdies in the first round at Bandon Dunes on March 11.  Pettit’s 65 tied for his best round of the year.  He also had a 65 in the third round at Bandon Dunes.

Redman, the  2017 US Amateur Champion, had his second lowest score of the year with his five under par 67.   He had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine for a 32.  Another highlight took place when he made an eagle on the 15th hole, his third of the year and 11th at Clemson.  Redman is tied for third with Pettit, just one shot out of the lead.

Bryson Nimmer was a third Clemson player under par on Tuesday with a 70. The three-time All-ACC player got off to a tough start with consecutive bogeys when he had trouble getting up and down from around the green, but he played the last nine holes at four-under-par 32 to finish under par for the seventh straight round.    Nimmer is in 10th place with a 141 score after 36 holes.

Colby Patton shot a two-over-par 74 on Tuesday and stands at even par for the tournament, while classmate Kyle Cottam had a 77 in the second round.

Clemson, S.C.—Bryson Nimmer fired a five-under par 67 and Doc Redman added a three-under-par 69 on Wednesday to lead Clemson to a second-place finish at the NCAA Bryan Regional near College Station, Texas.  Clemson finished with an 846 team score and now advances to the NCAA National Tournament in Stillwater, Okla.  May 25.

Host school and second-ranked Texas A&M won the tournament played at Traditions Golf Club with an 837 score.  Baylor finished in third place at 857, 11 shots behind the Tigers, and UCLA was fourth at 866.  Kentucky was the fifth and final qualifier for the national tournament with an 874 score, three shots ahead of Mississippi and eight shots ahead of South Carolina.

Clemson shot one-under-par 287 in the final round, 11 shots higher than Tuesday’s second round, but still tied for the fourth best team round in 13-team field.

“We did what he had to do today,” said Head Coach Larry Penley, who is taking a team to the NCAA National Tournament for the 28^thtime in his 35 years at Clemson.  “We cut the lead to four, but could get no closer.  Texas A&M deserved to win.  

“The course played tougher today for just about everyone because the pin placements were in more corners than previous rounds.  Bryson Nimmer was terrific and so was Doc Redman.  We needed a good round from Kyle Cottam and he delivered. 

“I think we are in a good frame of mind heading to the national tournament.”

Clemson has had an outstanding spring, finishing first or second in all six of its tournaments, leading to a 71-4 record against the field.   The NCAA National Tournament will be held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., the home course for the No .1 ranked team in the nation, Oklahoma State.  But it  is also the course where Clemson won its only National Championship in 2003 with a two shot victory over the host Cowboys.

Nimmer had the low round of any of the 75 golfers on Wednesday with his 67.  He had a clean round with five birdies and no bogeys.  He made birdie on three of his last six holes.  It was his eighth consecutive under-par round and his fifth-place finish was his seventh top 10 finish this year, best on the Clemson team. 

Redman had the best tournament finish by a Clemson golfer with his second place thanks to a 206 total of his 54 holes.  The sophomore All-American had scores of 70-67-69 for his three rounds, his second straight second-place finish, as he was second at the ACC Tournament three weeks ago.    Redman had four birdies, but made a bogey on the par three 16^th hole, a bogey that kept him from tying Chandler Phillips of Texas A&M  for medalist honors.  Phillips finished at 11 under par 205.

Cottam had an even par 72 on Wednesday, as he had three birdies and three bogeys.  It was his best round of the tournament.   Turk Pettit shot a seven over par 79, but he still finished at even par 216 for the 54 holes, good enough for 17^th place.  It was his seventh top 20 finish of the year.

Colby Patton also shot a 79 on Wednesday and finished with a 223 total, good enough for 40^th place.