Defending Champion Ousts Clemson's Dannelly From US Amateur Golf Championship

David Dannelly has a good idea of what Ben Martin was up against.

Dannelly, a junior transfer from Coastal Carolina who is expected to play a prominent role for Larry Penley's golf team this season, was ousted from the opening round of match play at the United States Amateur by teenage sensation Byeong-Hun An, the defending champion who a year ago defeated Martin in a 36-hole final for the title.

An, who is currently a freshman at California-Berkeley, came from behind to defeat Dannelly 3-and-2 at Chambers Bay Golf Club in University Place, WA.

Dannelly won three of the first four holes in his match against An, who countered by winning five of the next eight holes to take the lead. He closed out the match by winning the 16th to go three holes up and two to play.

Dannelly, who was joined in the stroke-play portion of the tournament by junior teammate Jacob Burger, qualified for the 64-man match play stage by finishing 13th out of 312 competitors. He had back-to-back rounds of 72 on The Home Course and Chambers Bay courses.

Burger finished in a tie for 59th place with a 149 total, after rounds of 73 at The Home Course and 76 at Chambers Bay. He failed to advance out of a 16-man playoff for the final six spots in the match-play field.

Dannelly and Burger will be the most experienced members of Penley's team this season, as for the first time in nearly 20 years there is not a senior on the Clemson roster.

That doesn't mean the Tigers lack experience, however.

"On the one hand, we're young in that we don't have any seniors,” said Penley. “But, on the other hand, we probably have the most returning players who have played in a college tournament since I've been at Clemson. We played 10 guys over the course of last season, which is the most in my coaching career, and eight of them are returning.”

Dannelly, who is from Easley, SC, is the most experienced player on the team. He was a starter on two Big South Conference championship teams at Coastal Carolina, where he won the league tournament as a freshman and finished second as a sophomore. He recorded four top-10 finishes in 16 events during his time with the Chanticleers.

“I'm excited about David joining our program,” said Penley. “He's going to add a big boost. He has won tournaments before and has a strong game. He's a talented player, and I think he fits in well.”

The Tigers will open their season Sept. 10-12 in the Carpet Capital Collegiate at Rocky Face, GA.