Clemson Golf Ranked Preseason No. 1 by Golfweek

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Clemson, S.C.- Clemson will begin its defense of the National

Championship as the nation's No. 1 team, according to Golfweek. The

top ranking marks the second consecutive year and third time in five

years that the Tiger golf team has been ranked No. 1 heading into the

fall season. The rest of the top 10 teams were (in order) UCLA,

Florida, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Arizona State, Texas, UNLV, Augusta

State, and Georgia Tech.

Golfweek also handed out preseason individual honors. Matt

Hendrix was named first-team All-American, while Gregg Jones and Jack

Ferguson were second-team All-Americans. In addition, the

publication has Hendrix ranked as the nation's No. 3 collegiate

golfer heading into the season.

Hendrix, a native of Aiken, SC, finished ninth in last year's

final Golfweek/Sagarin ranking after earning third-team All-America

honors as a junior. He had six top 10 finishes in 2002-03 and won

the heralded Sunnehanna Amateur this past summer. Hendrix competed

in the Walker Cup this past weekend, and posted a 2-0-1 record for

the United States team.

Ferguson, a junior from Seneca, SC, earned second-team

All-America honors as a sophomore. He finished fifth a year ago in

the final Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Ferguson had seven top 10

finishes in 2002-03 and was second only to D.J. Trahan with a 71.38

stroke average.

Jones, a senior from Florence, SC, was an All-ACC performer

for the Tigers last year and an All-American as a sophomore. He won

the Jones Cup this past summer and made it to the Sweet 16 of the

United States Amateur Championship. Jones finished 41st in the final

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings last season.

Clemson begins the fall season this weekend with a trip to

the Ridges Invitational in Johnson City, TN.

Golfweek Preseason Top 25 Rankings


Rk	Team	           Final 02-03 Rank


1.	Clemson	                1


2.	UCLA	                8


3.	Florida	                2


4.	Oklahoma State	        4


5.	Georgia	                13


6.	Arizona State	        15 


7.	Texas	                5


8.	UNLV	                9


9.	Augusta State	        6


10.	Georgia Tech	        12


11.	Arizona	                7


12.	TCU	                11


13.	North Carolina	        10


14.	Washington	        19


15.	Arkansas	        24


16.	USC	                23


17.	Pepperdine 	        26


18.	N.C. State	        17


19.	Wake Forest	        3


20.	New Mexico	        18


21.	Auburn	                14


22.	East Tennessee State	42


23.	South Carolina	        28


24.	Minnesota	        16


25.	Tennessee	        21

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