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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR LARRY PENLEY, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY MEN'S GOLF COACH, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS OF AWARD-WINNING COACHING, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
Whereas, South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that Coach Larry Penley will begin a well-deserved retirement at the end of the 2021 spring season after thirty-eight years as the distinguished and highly-regarded men's golf coach at Clemson University; and
Whereas, from 1977 to 1981, Larry Penley was a student athlete at Clemson University where he excelled as an All-ACC golfer. Just two years later he was named the head coach of the Tigers' golf team, the longest tenure by a Clemson head coach in any sport; and
Whereas, the highlight of Coach Penley's career was Clemson's 2003 National Championship, which at the time was just the fourth national team championship in Clemson athletics history. With a 183-8-3 record that year, the Tigers were one of the most dominant teams in college golf history, winning six times, including the ACC, NCAA Regional, and NCAA Championship tournaments, the first team in college golf history to win all three of those postseason tournaments in the same year; and
Whereas, under Coach Penley's leadership the Clemson Golf program has finished in the Top 20 twenty-five times. He led the team to thirteen Top 10 finishes; and
Whereas, in a Clemson athletics record for team appearances by a head coach, he has taken Clemson to the NCAA Tournament all thirty-six seasons in which a tournament was held; and
Whereas, after the team won the 2003 national championship, Coach Penley was named National Coach of the Year by every service, and he was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 at the age of forty-four, one of the youngest inductees in history. He was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame in 2009; and
Whereas, he has been named the ACC Coach of the Year seven times. He is just the fourth coach in any league sport to be named ACC Coach of the Year in four different decades. He has been named the NCAA District Coach of the Year seven times; and
Whereas, entering the spring of 2021, Coach Penley has had seventy-nine career victories, second in ACC history, including nine ACC Tournaments and seven NCAA Regionals, and the latter wins are more than any other coach in NCAA Division I history; and
Whereas, between 1982 and 2004 the team made the NCAA National Tournament every year, the third-longest winning streak in college golf history. During his career, he has taken Clemson to the national championship twenty-nine times; and
Whereas, fifteen of Coach Penley's former players have had status on the PGA Tour, and have combined to win fifteen PGA Tour events. Thirty-one of his players have been honored as All-Americans; and
Whereas, Coach Penley also has inspired academic excellence as fifteen of his players have been named a Golf Coaches Association Academic Scholar. His program has been recognized three times for its top ten percent ranking in terms of APR scores; and
Whereas, grateful for his many years of unparalleled dedication to the Clemson University golf program, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to Larry Penley as he transitions to a richly deserved retirement and the leisurely pace of the days ahead. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Larry Penley, Clemson University men's golf coach, upon the occasion of his retirement after thirty-eight years of award-winning coaching, and wish him continued success and happiness in all his future endeavors.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Larry Penley.
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