Tag: Clemson women’s golf

USC defeats Clemson in match play quarterfinals of the NCAA Women’s Golf Finals

Great season for the ladies!

After a record-setting performance at regionals, Clemson women’s golf season ended yesterday, falling to USC in the match play quarterfinals.

Stroke play for the NCAA Women’s Golf Finals wrapped up on Monday, and the individual national champion was crowned. The eight best teams moved on to match play to crown the team national champion. Clemson finished fifth in stroke play, shooting +18 to par.

The Tigers started stroke play hot. They finished round one in first place, going eight strokes under par, led by Isabella Rawl’s eight-birdie, -6 performance. However, the following three rounds weren’t as kind. Clemson shot five over in both rounds. In the final round that determined seeding for match play, the Tigers shot +16. Luckily, it wasn’t enough to push them out of the tournament.

Clemson paired with Southern California in match play quarterfinals. Unlike stroke play, match play focuses on the player vs. player results and winning holes rather than strokes vs. par. The Tigers lost 3-1, with the lone Clemson winner being Annabelle Pancake, with a 4&3 performance.

The championship match between Stanford and UCLA starts today at 2:15 p.m. PST.

Clemson placed second in Regionals, heading to Women’s Golf Finals

Clemson Women’s Golf is heading to the NCAA Finals!

Clemson holds onto second place, shooting for par on the final day of the Bryan Regional Tournament. The Tigers jumped to second place on Tuesday, going seven strokes under par for the second-best round of the tournament.

Annabelle Pancake had another great day, finishing -2. She overcame back-to-back bogies in the front nine with a couple of birdies on the following holes and three more through the rest of the round.

However, it was Melena Barrientos who led the way for Clemson. She shot birdie on five holes after recording only 30 throughout the year.  It was also her first time shooting in the 60s with a final stroke count of 69 (-3).

Although the Tigers were steadfast in their placement, the other four teams shuffled around them. SMU went from first to tied with Clemson after a +2 day. On the other hand, Vanderbilt’s final effort launched them into fourth place with the best round of any team in the tournament, -8.

The Finals start on May 17 through May 22 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Huge second day pushes Clemson Women’s Golf into second place in Regional Tournament

Clemson Women’s Golf climbed out of a hole today, pushing into second place!

The second day of the NCAA regional tournaments has wrapped up, and boy, was it a good one for Clemson women’s golf.

After shooting +3 (291) on Monday, the Tigers combined for -7 (281) in round two. Their performance was the best round of the day and moved Clemson from fourth to second in the tournament standings.

All-conference selections Annabelle Pancake and Chloe Holder led the way for the Tigers. Both were two of eight players to shoot 60s in the regional so far.

The pair shot for -10 on the day for ten birdies. Pancake was -6 (66) and Holder -4 (68), and they finished two bogie-free rounds. As a team, Clemson shot 10 of its 13 birdies in the back nine.

Clemson has positioned itself nicely going into the final day of the tournament. The top-5 teams and six individuals from Non-advancing teams will head to Carlsbad, California for the NCAA Championship. The Tigers will tee off again tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Women’s golf earns two All-ACC honors

ICYMI: Two players for Clemson women’s golf team earned All-Conference honors this week.

The ACC released its Women’s Golf All-ACC team on Thursday, and two Tigers made the cut, Chloe Holder and Annabelle Pancake.

The ACC uses a mixture of NCAA-approved individual national rankings, a coaches’ vote, and, if not already included, the individual ACC champion to form the team.

Holder earned the honor based on her rankings. The No. 76 player in the nation had an outstanding year, leading the team in almost every category. Notably, she had 13 rounds below par, including nine rounds in the 60s on a 71.42 stroke average and a hole-in-one. In her best round of the season, she scored 63 at Landfall Traditions in October and finished the year -3 vs Par.

On the other hand, Pancake picked up her second accolade in as many years and was one of two players selected by the coaches. She led the team in round below par with 14 and birdies with 94, all while averaging 71.54.

The Tigers will take the course again between May 6-9 in the NCAA Regionals Tournament. Clemson will be the lone ACC member in the Bryan Regional Site, playing against teams like LSU, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. The top-five teams and six individuals not on advancing teams will play for the National Championship on May 17-22 in Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

 

Clemson Women’s Golf coach Kelley Hester named national coach of the year

Clemson’s Kelley Hester has been recognized as the national coach of the year.

Clemson, S.C. – Kelley Hester has been named the LPGA Professionals Coach of the Year for 2022-23, it was announced today by the LPGA Professionals. Hester is a five-time winner of the Southeast Section Coach of the year honor (2009, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023), but this is the second time she has been selected as the National Coach of the Year (2009).

The national award winners were selected by the LPGA Professionals membership’s Executive Committee from the pool of Section Award winners voted on by officers of the six regional sections: Central, International, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Western.

Below is what the LPGA Professionals released about the award:

The LPGA Professionals Coach of the Year Award was established in 1980 and is awarded annually to an LPGA Professionals member who is actively engaged in teaching and/or coaching golf at the collegiate or high school level.

LPGA Professionals Class A member Kelley Hester has spent the last 25 years of her life coaching college golf, selflessly putting her athletes ahead of herself. Taking an honorable approach to her work, Hester’s goal is to be an athlete-centered coach who encourages a growth mindset in her students, ultimately allowing her program to be student-led. With a strong focus on culture, she strives to build a strong team of like-minded players who fully support one another.

Starting in 1998, Hester began her coaching career at Mercer University before moving to other universities. She started UNLV’s golf program and went on to serve as Head Coach at the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia, and Furman University before landing her current role at Clemson University. After seven years of coaching there, the women’s golf team won their first-ever ACC Championship in the 2022-23 season.

This year, the Clemson University Women’s Golf Team improved in overall stroke average across the board, firing 18 rounds of 68 or better, and saw team players compete at the highest levels including the Canadian Open and LPGA Dow Team Championship. With such notable accomplishments under her belt, Hester was voted the 2023 ACC Coach of the Year by her peers.

She is an engaged member of the LPGA and plays an active role in leadership as a member of the LPGA Membership Growth Committee since 2021. For the last three years, Hester has hosted the LPGA Coaching Seminar. In 2022 and 2023 she organized the Clemson LIFE golf clinic for intellectually challenged students. She also coached at the LPGA Leadership Academy in New Jersey in 2022 and 2023. 

“I am truly humbled to be named the LPGA National Coach of the Year. There are so many worthy coaches out there and I feel blessed to be honored,” said Hester. “The players on my team at Clemson as well as our entire support staff work incredibly hard to represent Clemson Women’s Golf. We enjoyed a banner year at Clemson, and they deserve all the credit. The LPGA has been so good to me, and I cherish every minute of my time spent serving junior and college golfers as well as fellow LPGA members who join me in the coaching ranks.”

-Via Clemson Athletic Communications