April 8, 2009

Clemson Wins United States Collegiate

Clemson, SC - Phillip Mollica fired a three-under par 69, and Luke Hopkins and Kyle Stanley added one-under par rounds of 71 to lead Clemson to its greatest comeback victory in history on Tuesday at the United States Collegiate. The event was played in weather that was in the low 40s with light snow falling at various times during the round on the par 72 Lakeside Course at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, GA.

Clemson was in sixth place, 13 shots behind Stanford entering the final round. But the Tigers shot four-under-par 284 as a team on Tuesday, the only school in the 15-team field to break par. Clemson finished with a 54 hole score of 876, two shots better than Stanford. Host school Georgia Tech, who shot an even par 288 on Tuesday, finished third at 881, while number-one ranked Georgia was fourth at 883.

The 15-team field included each of the top 11 teams in the latest Golf World Coaches poll and 13 of the 15 were ranked in the top 25. It was Clemson's first win since the 2006 United States Collegiate, which was played on the same Golf Club of Georgia Lakeside Course.

Tech Finishes Third at U.S. Collegiate Golf

ATLANTA - Phillip Mollica shot a 3-under-par 69, and All-American Kyle Stanley and Luke Hopkins added rounds of 71 Tuesday, lifting fourth-ranked Clemson to its second title in four years at the United States Collegiate Championship.

Ben Martin added a 73 for Clemson, which posted a team total of 4-under-par 284 and erased a 13-stroke deficit entering the final round, the biggest rally in Clemson golf history. The Tigers finished three rounds with a 12-over-par total of 876, two shots ahead of sixth-ranked Stanford, the second-round leader, which shot 299 Tuesday and finished at 14-over 878.

"It really feels good winning on this golf course with this field," said Clemson coach Larry Penley, whose Tigers had not won a tournament since they captured the first USCC in 2006 and entered the final round Tuesday in sixth place. "It should carry some momentum into the post-season. We just needed to win a tournament."

Koepka Finishes In A Tie For 7th At US Collegiate Championship.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Florida State University freshman Brooks Koepka earned his third consecutive top-10 finish as he carded a 74 in the final round of the U.S. Collegiate Championship and finished in a tie for seventh place in the individual standings as the final round of the event was played at the Golf Club of Georgia. Koepka finished second at the Florida State Spring Break Invitational and in second place during the stroke play competition at the Callaway Match Play Championship earlier this month and has not carded a score above 74 in his last seven rounds.

No. 5 Clemson rallied from a tie for sixth place after two rounds to claim the team championship. The Tigers turned in the only sib-par team score of the third round to climb past six teams to win the team title. Bud Cauley of Alabama and Erick Flores of UCLA tied for the individual championship with four under par scores of 212.

Koepka was Florida State's leader throughout the event after carding a two-under par 70 in the first round of the event. He maintained his top-10 standing in the second round with a two-over par 74 and closed with a second strong score of 74. Koepka was poised to shoot one of the best rounds of his short collegiate career and was two strokes under par through his first 11 holes of the final round before carding four bogeys over his final seven holes to finish at two over par for the afternoon.