Roscommon golfer plays starring role in US university’s march to national final

A County Roscommon golfer played a starring role in helping his university in the USA win its first NCAA Regional Championship in 20 years to qualify for the national final.

Thomas Higgins, a member of Roscommon Golf Club, played the final 36 holes in 9 under for a 6 under total to finish 14th overall, helping Clemson University to a one-stroke victory at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional on Wednesday.

Clemson University, known as The Tigers, were ranked number 59 in the nation overall and entered the tournament as the number 10 seed in the 13-team regional tournament.

Higgins and his team-mates are the first team to win any regional tournament as a double-digit seed since the NCAA adopted the current regional format in 2009.

The Tigers now advance to the NCAA National Tournament at Carlsbad, California between May 24th and 29th, which will feature some of the top amateur golfers in the United States.

Higgins, who had a second round 63 that established a Clemson record for a low score in any NCAA Tournament round, hit a 68 in the third round on Wednesday and finished 14th with a 204 score.

His final round included two eagles, and he finished the tournament with three to tie a Clemson record.

Higgins played the par five holes at 9 under par for the week, and he made eagles on the sixth and 17th holes on Wednesday. With Higgins’ 14th place finish, it marked the first time Clemson had three of the top 15 players at an NCAA Regional since 2017.

Son of Mary and Tom Higgins, Thomas has carved out some great successes, including winning the Ulster Boys’ U-18 Championship in 2018 and Connaught U-19 Close Championship in 2020, alongside representing Roscommon Golf Club in a number of major competitions. He is also a former All-Ireland senior schools’ winner with Roscommon CBS.

He is currently on a scholarship with Clemson University on South Carolina.