Bridgeman, Tigers lead again at Palmetto
Mar. 9—Jacob Bridgeman just needed to stay patient Monday.
The Clemson junior, the defending champion of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, didn't get off to a hot start in either of the first two rounds of his title defense at Palmetto Golf Club.
In some cases it was a rare misfire, like a 5-foot birdie putt he missed on the ninth hole of his first round. In other cases it was some bad luck, like when his ball hit a sprinkler head on the following hole and flew over the green for a disappointing par.
Enter head coach Larry Penley with a little encouragement, and then the champ's putter got hot.
"Coach just kept telling me to keep going at it and we'll finally make birdies," said Bridgeman, who then delivered the kicker. "I birdied 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18. I almost made birdie on 16, so it easily could've been 10 in a row."
That was good for an opening-round 64, and he shrugged off another slow start to his second round for a 67 to post 9-under 131. The defending champion Tigers are 20 under as a team, four clear of UNC Wilmington and eight ahead of Furman. Host USC Aiken is in fourth place, 12 behind.
"We just love playing here," Bridgeman said. "Love having the challenge. The greens are sort of challenging at times, but it's a lot of fun for us."
A shot back of Bridgeman is Furman's Reynolds Lambert (67-65), and his teammate Keller Harper (68-65) is two off the lead. UNC Wilmington's Blake McShea (67-67) and Clemson's William Nottingham (64-70) are three back. USCA's Bjorn Rosengren (70-65) is four behind.
Bridgeman said he's not going to go into the final round with a particular score in mind, but a 65 would break the tournament scoring record set by South Carolina's Will Miles two years ago — Bridgeman missed tying it by a shot last year.
He made the turn at 1 over in each of the first two rounds, then played the back nine in a combined 11 under. That even included a good bogey save on 16 in his second round after he went long off the tee and had to gouge the ball out of the woods.
"I told Coach during the day that I thought this course is 75 percent management and 25 percent execution," he said. "Just my experience of knowing how to play this course and have success on this course helps a lot, for sure."
There's also a chance for seventh-ranked Clemson to stand alone in the team record books. The Tigers, who have won four times at Palmetto, tied USC's scoring record last year with a 27-under 813 total.
A record-breaking performance may be necessary Tuesday, considering how close the competition is. UNCW's second-round 267 tied the 18-hole scoring record and put the Seahawks within four of Clemson
USCA, ranked third in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches' Poll, is in the hunt for its first win of the spring after winning two tournaments in the fall.
The Pacers improved their score by 10 strokes in the second round and have three players in the top 10. Rosengren is alone in sixth at 5 under, and George Eubank (70-68) and Leo Johansson (68-70) are tied for ninth at 2 under.
South Aiken grad Jake Carter, a graduate student at Charleston Southern, is tied for 37th at 6 over after two rounds of 73.
