It has been a very good week for golfers wearing a Tiger Paw.

The Clemson women’s team completed a winning week for Tiger golfers with a victory at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Arizona.

The Tigers earned their first ever outright 54 hole championship and the third tournament victory in the program’s history at the event hosted by Notre Dame.

All five Tiger golfers shot par or better to come from 2-shots off the lead and win the championship by 5-shots over Texas A&M.

Earlier this week the Clemson men’s team topped a strong field to win the Wake Forest Invitational on Pinehurst #2 and Colby Patton and Zach Gordon tied for medalist honors.

The win was even more impressive when you consider that the Tigers All-American golfer, Jacob Bridgeman, was away from the team playing in a qualifying tournament for a spot on the PGA Canada Tour.

Like the men and then the women’s team Bridgeman also earned a victory.

Until this week the Tigers had played some good golf, but had not been able to put together a complete effort in a tournament.

“We have been working hard in practice but have struggled with consistency all season,” said Clemson coach Kelley Hester. “Our good golf has been very good, but too many mental mistakes and miss hits,” she said.

The Tigers accomplished the victory without having a golfer finishing in the top-five for the 54 hole tournament.

“Everyone contributed and it was truly an all around great team performance,” noted the coach.

Clemson’s Kathrine Schuster had the highest finish for the Tigers. The freshman from Outer Banks, NC shot a final round 3-under par 69 to finish in a tie for sixth place,

Freshman Melena Barrientos led Clemson on the final day with a 4-under par 68 to finish tied for 15th, one shot behind teammate Savannah Grewal who tied for 13th.

Grewal posted Clemson’s best score in the tournament with a second round 5-under par 67 to keep the Tigers in second place, two shots behind LSU going into the final round.

While the Tigers did not have a top-5 golfer, they did place four in the top-20. Callista Rice’s final round even par 72 helped Clemson shoot 12-under par for the win.

All five Tigers contributed at least one score to the 5-shot team victory. Annabelle Pancake carded her best round of the tournament on the final day adding her 2-under par 70 to the Tigers 12-under par round.

“It was great to see the girls go out and execute our game plan. Last year in the final round here we shot -11 with similar hole locations so we knew what to expect,” said Hester.

Texas A&M shot the best final round to move up to second place while LSU dropped back to finish third.

The NCAA finals will again be played in Arizona at Grayhawk. In addition to the win playing in similar conditions and gaining a little more experience is a bonus for the team.

“No doubt. Last year we stayed and played Grayhawk. This year we aren’t so lucky, but the girls do seem comfortable with desert golf,” said Hester.

Clemson is next in action when they host their own tournament starting on March 25th at The Reserve at Lake Keowee.

“Definitely some confidence headed into our final regular season event at home where we see another strong field,” concluded Hester.

Scores from the Clover Cup https://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=23575

Bridgeman wins PGA Canada 3 Qualifying tournament

While the Clemson men’s team was posting an impressive win at the Wake Forest Invitational, Jacob Bridgeman was in Alabama qualifying for a spot on the PGA Canada Tour.

Bridgeman finished on top of the field of 109 golfers shooting a four day total of 19-under par 269.

The field included aspiring professionals as well as a number of amateurs attempting to qualify for a spot on the Tour when they finish their college careers.

Bridgeman may have several opportunities to begin his professional career after completing his senior year at Clemson.

The All-American and winner of the ACC Student-Athlete of the Year in men’s golf award last season is also ranked in the PGA University standings.

Bridgeman is currently 13th. The top-five finishers at the end of the year receive status on the Korn-Ferry Tour.

Golfers ranked from 6th to 15th receive an exemption to a PGA International Tour and the second stage of the Korn-Ferry Qualifying school.

PGA Canada 3 East Qualifying https://www.pgatour.com/canada/en_us/tournaments/pga-tour-canada-q-school-usa-east-3/leaderboard.html