Higgins, Bredkjaer lead balanced effort as Tigers remove postseason pressure

By Stan Olenik. Editor-Publisher The Golf Club

There were times this season when it was fair to wonder which version of Clemson’s golf team would show up.

The Tigers posted an early season impressive win in the Marquette Invitational at Erin Hills, knocking off a field that included Florida, Texas Tech and San Diego State. But inconsistency followed, including a 13th-place finish out of 14 teams at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate and a 20th-place showing at The Prestige to open the spring.

Still, if you looked closely, there were signs the early-season success was more than a one-off.

Clemson began to stabilize with a late push at The Hayt at Sawgrass Country Club. Clemson finshed eighth in a field that included seven of the top twenty five and three of the top six teams in the rankings.

The Tigers backed up the strong finish with a competitive fourth-place finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay. More importantly, those performances helped build a winning head-to-head record—something that proved costly a year ago when the Tigers narrowly missed NCAA postseason play.

This time, they left no doubt.

Clemson surged from 10th place after the opening round to capture the team title at the Mountaineer Invitational in Bridgeport, West Virginia, finishing at 20-under-par 844 to defeat another loaded field that included three top-10 teams.

The Tigers were tied with Texas Tech entering the final three holes before closing strong, playing those holes at one-under-par while the Red Raiders slipped to three-over, sealing a four-shot victory.

Just as important as the win itself, the result pushed Clemson’s season record to 82-50-3, guaranteeing a winning mark heading into the ACC Championship—the key threshold that kept them out of NCAA regionals last year.

“This was a total team effort,” Clemson coach Jordan Byrd said. “The first day didn’t get off to the start we were looking for, but the guys kept believing. We kept adjusting, and once we got it rolling, we stayed aggressive and kept making birdies.”

The final two rounds told the story. After opening with a six-over 294, Clemson played its last 36 holes at a combined 26-under-par, leaping past nine teams—including wins over No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 8 Texas Tech.

Senior Thomas Higgins delivered the best finish of his Clemson career, placing second at 10-under-par 206, just one shot off the individual lead.
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“We made good decisions and then we got to roll. And once we got it rolling, we kept our foot on the gas, kept playing great golf. Oscar Bredkjaer getting to 8 under through 12, was pretty huge to kind of keep us in the game, keep us out front,” Byrd said.

Bredkjaer’s 65 helped push the Tigers to the title.

Lucas Augustsson added a fifth-place finish at 211, while Rich Wills and Colin Salema each contributed to the team score, underscoring the depth Byrd has been building toward all season.

“You can feel the momentum,” Byrd said. “They’ve been building all year, and I think the best is yet to come.”

And that may be the most important takeaway of all.

With two tournament wins, multiple contributors emerging, and the pressure of reaching a .500 record now behind them, Clemson heads to the ACC Championship with a different mindset than a year ago.

This time, there’s no chasing a number.

Just a team playing its best golf at exactly the right time.

The Golf Club follows Clemson golf and Clemson golfers who go on to play on the next level. Keep up with our coverage of the Tigers by subscribing to SCgolfclub.com

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