Clemson weathers the storm to capture team title in Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

 

   Don’t sleep on Clemson.

   The Atlantic Coast Conference representative headed for last spring’s Chapel Hill Regional as a 10 seed. And didn’t the Tigers go out and win the thing, claiming the eighth NCAA regional team crown in program history.

   Clemson was unable to carry the momentum from that unlikely regional title to the NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., but no matter what their seeding when the regional bids are handed out in May, you know the Tigers will be plotting a return trip to Southern California.

   With three players finishing among the top seven in the individual standings, Clemson claimed the team title by five shots in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at the Palmetto Country Club in Aiken, S.C. that was shortened to 36 holes due to relentless rain Monday.

   The original plan was for a 36-hole double round Monday, but the miserable conditions made it impossible to even complete one round. Teams came back Tuesday, in much nicer weather, to complete the first round and then play a full second round.

   Maybe these Tigers are just mudders as rainy weather plagued the Chapel Hill Regional a year ago and Clemson seemed unbothered.

   Clemson, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 59 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, got through the messy first round with a 9-over 289 over the 6,617-yard, par-70 Palmetto layout.

   The Tigers came back with a solid 6-under 274, the low team round of the tournament, in Tuesday’s second round for a 3-over 563 total that left them five shots clear of host South Carolina Aiken, a Division II program.

   USCA more than held its own against its Division I opponents as the Pacers opened with a 12-over 292 that left them three shots behind Clemson and added a solid 4-under 276 in the second round to earn runnerup honors with an eight-over 568 total.

   USCA came away with the individual trophy as Oscar Abrahamsson, a senior from Sweden, defeated Campbell’s Henric Bjelke, a senior from Norway, in a playoff to take the title after the two players both landed on 2-under 138.

   After getting it around in 4-over 74 in the rain-interrupted opening round, Abrahamsson went low in Tuesday’s second round with a sizzling 6-under 64. Bjelke opened with a solid 2-over 72 in the opening round’s tough conditions and posted a sparkling 4-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round to join Abrahamsson at 2-under.

   Abrahamsson made a birdie on the first hole of the playoff, the 16^th at Palmetto, to claim the individual title.

   Clemson was led by junior Lucas Augustsson, like Abrahamsson a Swede, who finished in a tie for third place with yet another Swede, USCA’s Erik Olin, a senior, each ending up with a 1-under 139 total.

   Augustsson transferred to Clemson after two solid seasons at East Carolina and he got a chance to reunite with his former teammates as the Pirates were also in the field in the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate.

   Augustsson somehow managed to record a 2-under 68 in the difficult conditions of the opening round that was easily the best round of the first 18 holes. He added a 1-over 71 in Tuesday’s second round to end up at 1-under.

   Clemson’s Thomas Higgins, a junior from Ireland, finished in a tie for fifth place with Mercer’s Nathan Trodd, a junior from South Africa, each ending up at even-par 140. Higgins opened with a solid 1-over 71 in the rain-interrupted opening round before adding a 1-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Andrew Swanson, a senior from Bluffton, S.C., gave Clemson a third finisher among the top seven as he finished alone in seventh place with a 1-over 141 total. After opening with a 4-over 74, Swanson registered a sparkling 3-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Higgins and Swanson were both in the lineup for Clemson for the surprising team title in last spring’s Chapel Hill Regional.

   Bjelke’s runnerup finish helped Campbell, a Coastal Athletic Association entry, finish in third place the team standings as the Fighting Camels ended up three shots behind USCA with an 11-over 571 total.

   Campbell, No. 87 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a 12-over 292 before adding a solid 1-under 279 in Tuesday’s second round.

  East Carolina, out of the American Athletic Association, was another 12 shots behind Campbell in fourth place with a 23-over 583 total. After struggling to a 300 in the opening round’s miserable weather, the Pirates bounced back with a 3-over 283 in Tuesday’s second round.

   A couple of Southern Conference representatives, Mercer and Samford, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up five shots behind East Carolina with a 28-over 588 total.

   The Bears bounced back from an opening-round 302 with a 6-over 286 in Tuesday’s second round. The Bulldogs also struggled in the opening round with a 307, but rebounded with a 1-over 281 in Tuesday’s second round.

   It was a tough trip to South Carolina for Temple, one of East Carolina’s AAC rivals, as the Owls finished in 13^th place in the 14-team field with a 55-over 615 total. Temple really struggled in the difficult conditions of Monday’s opening round with a 316 before adding a 299 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Backing up the trio of Clemson players in the top seven was Kian Rose, a redshirt senior from South Africa who finished alone in 11^th place with a 4-over 144 total. Rose bounced back from an opening round of 6-over 76 with a solid 2-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Rounding out the Clemson lineup was Rich Wills, a freshman from Cramerton, N.C. who finished among a trio tied for 15^th place at 7-over 147. After opening with a 7-over 77, Wills matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 70.

   USCA’s Olin added a 3-under 67 in the second round to his opening round of 2-over 72 to get his share of third place with Clemson’s Augustsson at 1-under.

   Mercer’s Trodd bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 75 with a sparkling 5-under 65 to get his share of fifth place with Clemson’s Higgins at even-par.

   Joachim Larsen Tegner, a sophomore from Norway, gave Campbell a second finisher in the top eight as he added a 2-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 4-over 74 to finish alone in eighth place with a 2-over 142 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings was a pair of East Carolina players, Tyler DeChellis, a senior from Clayton, N.C., and Carter Busse, a senior from Davidson, N.C., as both landed on 3-over 143.

   DeChellis added a sparkling 3-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 6-over 76. Busse opened with a 4-over 74 before adding a 1-under 69 in the more favorable conditions of Tuesday’s final round.

   Solid showing by South Carolina Aiken redshirt senior Karl Frisk, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Spring Grove. Frisk added a 3-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 6-over 76 to finish in a tie for 23^rd place with a 9-over 149 total.

   Leading the way for Temple was Jake Naese, a senior from Bradenton, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 18^th place with an 8-over 148 total. Naese opened with a solid 3-over 73 in the rain in the opening round before adding a 5-over 75 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Aidan Emmerich, a junior from Swampscott, Mass., finished alone 54^th place with a 154 total as he added a 6-over 76 in Tuesday’s final round to his opening round of 8-over 78.

   Emmerich had been the low Owl in Temple’s first two appearances of the second half of the wraparound 2024-2025 season at the Dorado Beach Collegiate at TPC Dorado Beach’s Sugarcane Course in Puerto Rico and in the Owls’ first visit to South Carolina for the Wexford Intercollegiate at the Wexford Golf Club’s Arnold Palmer Signature Course in Hilton Head.

   Ethan Whitney, a senior from Westminster, Mass., finished a shot behind Emmerich in a tie for 55^th place with a 155 total. Whitney bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a solid 2-over 72 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Senior Joey Morganti, a Havertown resident who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep, finished in the group tied for 61^st place with a 158 total. Like Whitney, Morganti struggled in the opening round’s difficult conditions with an 82 before carding a 6-over 76 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was sophomore Drew Clark, a Kennett Square resident who played his scholastic golf at Archmere Academy. Clark finished alone in 75^th place with a 169 total as he struggled mightily in the opening round with a 91 before bouncing back with an 8-over 78 in Tuesday’s second round.