Clemson, SC—Jonathan Nielsen shot a four-under-par 67 to lead Clemson to a two-under-par team score of 282 and a sixth-place standing after the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Tournament at the Charlotte Country Club in Charlotte, NC.
Clemson is in sixth place, but is just two shots out of fourth place after the opening round. After 54 holes are finished on Sunday night, the top four teams will advance to the match play championship that will determine overall ACC Champion. The 12 teams in the league will play 18 holes a day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the par 71 course. The match play semifinals and finals are scheduled for Monday.
Wake Forest has the lead after the first round with a 13-under-par score of 271. North Carolina is second at nine-under-par 275 and Georgia Tech is third at 278. Florida State is fourth at 280, while NC State is fifth at 281, one shot ahead of the Tigers. Duke is seventh at 283.
Nielsen is tied for third in the individual race with his 67, his 12th round in the 60s and 17th under-par round of the year. He had a four-under-par 31 on the back nine, his first nine of the day, then had one birdie and one bogey on the front nine. It was the fourth straight tournament that Nielsen had shot in the 60s in the opening round.
Michael Brennan of Wake Forest and Bartley Forrester of Georgia Tech have the lead after an opening round scores of 66. Nielsen, Christo Lamprecht of Georgia Tech and Peter Fountain of North Carolina all had rounds of 67 and are tied for third.
Supporting Nielsen were Alberto Dominguez and Andrew Swanson, who both had rounds of even par 71. Dominguez began his round with a 33 on the back nine, then shot 38 on the front. He had three birdies and three bogeys for the round. Swanson had 16 pars, most in the 60-player field, had one bogey and one birdie. He made par on each hole on the front nine.
Calahan Keever had a two-over-par 73 with four bogeys and two birdies, while Thomas Wiggins got off to a rough start with a 38 on the back nine, then played his last six holes at two-under-par to finish with a 74.
Clemson will be paired with golfers from NC State and Florida State in the second round. Play begins Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. off the first tee. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
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