HutchCC Sports Information
Former Hutchinson Community College All-American golfer Dominic Clemons became the first Blue Dragon player in history to qualify for one of professional golf’s four major championships on Tuesday.
Designated an amateur because he still has collegiate eligibility remaining, Clemons’ incredible summer of 2024 got even more eventful on Tuesday after the former Blue Dragon tied professional major champion Justin Rose (2013 U.S. Open Champion) for first place in one of the four qualifying tournaments for the 152nd British Open. Clemons played at the Burnham & Barrow Golf Club in Burnham-on-Sea, England.
Clemons matched Rose stroke for stroke in each round with a 5-under 66 on Monday and a 3-under 68 on Tuesday to finish tied at 8-under 134, three strokes clear of the field. Clemons carded six birdies and only one bogey on Monday and closed with seven birdies and four bogeys on Tuesday.
The 152nd Open Championship will take place on July 18-21 at Royal Troon in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Tying for The Open qualifier was just the latest spectacular performance for Clemons, who came to Hutchinson from Cambridge, England.
Already this summer, Clemons won the Scottish Men’s Open Amateur in May by 17 strokes. Then in June, Clemons advanced all the way to the finals of the 125th British Amateur, falling 4 and 3 in the 36-hole title match to Jakob Skov Olesen.
Clemons played for the Blue Dragons in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Clemons was the No. 2 bag on Hutchinson’s second-straight team NJCAA National Champion in 2022 at the Odessa Country Club in Odessa, Texas. Clemons shot a 7-under 281 and tied for first place in the individual title chase. He lost a two-hole playoff, but still earned first-team NJCAA All-America honors.
One year later, Clemons helped the 2023 Blue Dragons to a fifth-place NJCAA nationals finish. Clemons tied for 34th individually at Sand Creek Station in Newton at 3-over 291.
After Hutchinson, Clemons transferred to Stetson University for the 2023-24 season. While with the Hatters, Clemons was a unanimous first-team All-ASUN selection, closing the year with five top-three finishes and seven top-five results in 12 tournaments.
Clemons was a three-time ASUN Golfer of the Week. He led the team in all categories and finished ranked No. 87 in the nation in the final Spikemark golf rankings. Clemons captured medalist honors at the Daytona Beach Intercollegiate with a 3-under par 213 (73-70-70) to capture his first medalist honor at Stetson.
Clemons has already transferred to the University of Alabama for the 2024-25 season.