Both of Clemson’s men’s and women’s golf teams participated in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 2 and 3; the tournament was scheduled to conclude on Oct. 4 but was suspended a day early due to weather in the area. Clemson’s women placed third, while the men placed seventh.
As a team, the women finished third out of the 10 teams participating. They were 21 shots off the lead. Individually, all of their golfers were in the top 30. Only Clemson and Arkansas, who had the individual and team win, were able to accomplish this feat.
Junior Chloe Holder finished with the best total out of the Tigers as she tied for 10th, 11 shots off the individual leader. Sophomore Syndey Roberts finished close behind, only one shot greater than Holder. Senior Annabelle Pancake, who is coming off the best season of her career with the third-best stroke average in Clemson history, finished tied for 26 and 16 shots off the lead.
The men’s side narrowly snuck ahead of NC State due to strong play from senior Jonathan Nielsen, who finished tied sixth overall and was seven shots off of the lead. On Oct. 4, he had managed to get himself into a tie for second, but when play was suspended, his round on the final day did not count.
Fellow senior Calahan Keever, a recent transfer from Anderson University, finished tied for 21st at 11 shots off of the lead. Sophomore Thomas Higgins, who had one top-10 finish last season, finished tied for 34th place as he was two over par on the first day and five over on the second.
One bright spot for both Clemson teams was that they were able to outplay South Carolina. The Gamecocks finished fifth for the women; their top golfers finished tied with Roberts. For the men, South Carolina was second-to-last, and its top golfer finished two shots behind Nielsen.
This was the second tournament of the season for both teams. The women, who were the ACC champions last season, have now finished third in both competitions. The men’s team is struggling to find its groove but did improve from their No. 13 finish in the last tournament.
Next up for the women’s golf team will be the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee, starting on Sunday, Oct. 15. The men’s team will be playing in the Golf Club of Georgia Invitational in Alpharetta, Georgia, starting Friday, Oct. 13.
