2008 Woodie Awards
Stanley pushes Tigers to third
Junior Kyle Stanley leads golf team in the Ping-Golfweek Preview.
By: Mark Gordon
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Sports
The Ping-Golfweek Preview is slated as the best tournament in the collegiate golf fall schedule and the youthful Tigers are once again proving that their number six national ranking may not fairly represent the amount of talent that these players possess. The star-studded lineups for the Preview boast 11 of the nation's top 13 teams with only top-ranked UCLA and fifth-ranked Stanford missing from the field.
The Tiger roster included senior David May, a four-year starter who boasted two rounds of par or better at last week's Carpet Classic, junior All-American Kyle Stanley who is coming off a strong performance in winning the individual Carpet Classic with a five-stroke win that ties the Clemson Golf record for margin of victory, junior All-Region selection Sam Saunders who finished last week with an impressive 223, junior Ben Martin who is making his first ever collegiate tournament appearance this week, and rounding out the roster was freshman Jacob Burger who will be making his second tournament appearance of his young career.
The Tigers, who were slated to play the back nine first at the Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, got off to a painfully slow start and fell to 14th place overall after the first nine holes of play. However, the Tigers came roaring back shooting a combined three under par in the final nine holes to boost them from 14th place overall to seventh at the end of day one. Stanley led the Tigers, shooting a four-under par over the last 15 holes to finish with a 69 which put him three shots back of the individual leader. Day two of the Preview was a different story for the Tigers, who started off hot and rode the momentum all the way to the finish line shooting a 281, the second best team score of the day behind only Oklahoma State. Once again, junior Kyle Stanley led the charge finishing with a 68, putting him just two shots back of Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman for the individual lead. Joining Stanley under par were May and Martin to push the Tigers from seventh place to third place as a team in the competition.
The Tigers might have finished with the top score of the day if not for May finding himself in a bizarre situation on the seventh hole. After shooting his first shot into the deep rough, May had trouble identifying his ball and accidentally hit the ball of an Arizona State player who was playing an adjacent hole. The shot resulted in a two-stroke penalty which briefly set the Tigers back.
However, May proved on the very next hole that he would be the hero of the day sinking a 50-foot putt for his first Eagle of the season and jump-starting Clemson to yet another strong finish.
The Preview will conclude on Tuesday as Clemson tries to win the event for the first time since 2001 when the Tigers, led by pro D.J. Trahan, won the event by one stroke over Ohio State.
The Tiger roster included senior David May, a four-year starter who boasted two rounds of par or better at last week's Carpet Classic, junior All-American Kyle Stanley who is coming off a strong performance in winning the individual Carpet Classic with a five-stroke win that ties the Clemson Golf record for margin of victory, junior All-Region selection Sam Saunders who finished last week with an impressive 223, junior Ben Martin who is making his first ever collegiate tournament appearance this week, and rounding out the roster was freshman Jacob Burger who will be making his second tournament appearance of his young career.
The Tigers, who were slated to play the back nine first at the Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, got off to a painfully slow start and fell to 14th place overall after the first nine holes of play. However, the Tigers came roaring back shooting a combined three under par in the final nine holes to boost them from 14th place overall to seventh at the end of day one. Stanley led the Tigers, shooting a four-under par over the last 15 holes to finish with a 69 which put him three shots back of the individual leader. Day two of the Preview was a different story for the Tigers, who started off hot and rode the momentum all the way to the finish line shooting a 281, the second best team score of the day behind only Oklahoma State. Once again, junior Kyle Stanley led the charge finishing with a 68, putting him just two shots back of Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman for the individual lead. Joining Stanley under par were May and Martin to push the Tigers from seventh place to third place as a team in the competition.
The Tigers might have finished with the top score of the day if not for May finding himself in a bizarre situation on the seventh hole. After shooting his first shot into the deep rough, May had trouble identifying his ball and accidentally hit the ball of an Arizona State player who was playing an adjacent hole. The shot resulted in a two-stroke penalty which briefly set the Tigers back.
However, May proved on the very next hole that he would be the hero of the day sinking a 50-foot putt for his first Eagle of the season and jump-starting Clemson to yet another strong finish.
The Preview will conclude on Tuesday as Clemson tries to win the event for the first time since 2001 when the Tigers, led by pro D.J. Trahan, won the event by one stroke over Ohio State.
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