Roger Clemens shot a 79 at TPC Myrtle Beach on Friday to finish in a tie for 9th at the Golf.Com World Amateur Handicap Championship. Clemens, an 8 handicap had a net score of 71 to earn the top 10 finish in the field of just under 3100 golfers. Robert Mieckowski of Laurence Harbor, New Jersey shot a gross 76 for a net 65 to win the World Amateur Championship. A local product, Frank Payne of Aynor, finished in 2nd.
Clemens started his week with an 84 at Diamondback Golf Course in Loris and followed it up with rounds at the Hackler Golf Course on the campus of Coastal Carolina and TPC on Wednesday. He was tied for first in his flight when his Thursday round at Litchfield was cancelled due to unplayable conditions. At one point, Clemens was one shot off the lead before going out of bounds on the par 5 6th hole which led to a double bogey. Clemens would close out his round with a bogey on 7, a par on 8 and a bogey on the par 4 ninth hole.
Clemens arrived in Myrtle Beach after making an appearance for the Sugar Land Skeeters, an independent minor league baseball team in Texas. He threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, fueling speculation of a return to the major leagues. In the middle of the week he confirmed a return to the mound for the Skeeter next Friday. When the 50 year old was pressed about his future plans on the mound, he was vague in what the future may hold.
"We've got something fun planned, but we don't know if it's able to happen or not," Clemens said following his round. "We'll wait and see next week if it all works out." When asked about speculation that he would make two appearances on the mound for the Houston Astros following his Skeeters appearance, Clemens said he had not heard the rumor before going to sign an autograph. "I can't control the speculation, so I'm not too concerned with it."
