Biography
Summer 2014: Carded a 137 in qualifying for the United States Amateur Public Links Championship highlighted by a 66 in the opening round ... Shot a 72 in both rounds of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship ... Tied for 29th in a field of 93 individuals at the Dogwood Invitational, posting a 7-under-par 281 four-round score; his low round of the event was a 3-under-par 69 on the second day, while he opened and closed the tournament with scores of 70.
2013-14: Voted first-team all-Sun Belt Conference and made the league’s all-tournament as well ... Led the team and finished second in the conference with a 72.72 scoring average ... Finished even par or better at five tournaments, posting 17 scores of par or better in 12 events ... Was second on the squad with both five top-10 and seven top-20 performances ... Tied for second with a season-best 5-under-par 211 total highlighted by a season-low 4-under-par 68 on the opening day of the SBC tournament ... Recorded a team-low 3-under-par 68 in the second of three rounds at the NCAA East Regional ... Shot a 1-under-par 215 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship to end the regular season, with a 2-under-par 70 the afternoon of the first day ... Carded scores of par or lower in the last two rounds of the Memphis Intercollegiate to place seventh with a 219 two-day score ... Recorded an even-par 72 in the second of three rounds at Auburn’s Tiger Invitational, tying for 15th in the individual standings with a 218 total ... Shot 74 or better in all three rounds at the Linger Longer Invitational, posting a 221 54-hole score to tie for 29th place ... Had an even-par 72 on the last day of the Samford Intercollegiate to help the Jaguars rally for the team championship, finishing the event tied for 22nd individually ... Closed out the fall with three straight top-15 performances, with two of those top-10 finishes ... Tied for seventh in a field of 69 at the David Toms Intercollegiate, carding back-to-back 1-under-par 71s for a 217 54-hole score ... Fired a 2-under-par 70 in each of the last two rounds of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, tying for 15th place individually with a 3-under-par 213 total over two days ... Led the Jaguars at The Invitational at The Ocean Course with an even-par 216 — which included a 2-under-par 70 over the first 18 holes — to tie for seventh out of 78 competitors ... Fired a 2-under-par 69 — his low score of the fall — in the first round of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, going on to finish with an even-par 213 total ... Low score at the Columbia Regional Preview was a 73 the afternoon of the opening day of the tournament.
Summer 2013: Birdied the first hole of a playoff to qualify for the United States Amateur Championship for the second year in a row; he finished the qualifier with a 140 total after shooting a 4-under-par 68 in the morning round ... Advanced to the match-play segment of the U.S. Amateur in August with two-day total of 144, earning the 61st seed in a playoff for the final 15 slots in the bracket ... Opened the championship with a 3-under-par 67 ... Qualified for the United States Amateur Public Links Championship, where he advanced to the match-play segment of the event after posting a 145 36-hole total ... Tied for 14th place at the Monroe Invitational, posting a 54-hole score of 215 that included a 70 on the final day of the tournament ... Carded a 1-under-par 215 total on the first three days of the Dogwood Invitational, missing the final round cut by just one stroke.
2012-13: Became the first Jaguar to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual since 2003, where he would tie for 69th place in a field of 156 with a 4-over-par 214 54-hole score that included an even-par 70 in the second of three rounds ... Voted first-team all-Sun Belt Conference ... Posted a 74.10 stroke average, four top-10 and seven top-20 performances, and 13 rounds of par or better while taking part in all 13 team events ... Ranked ninth in the conference in scoring average ... Qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual after leading the Jaguars with a 2-over-par 218 total at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Baton Rouge, La. ... Had the team’s best 18-hole score at the event with a 2-under-par 70 in the second round, following up with an even-par 72 on the last day to force a playoff that he won with a par on the first hole ... Led USA for the first time while posting his first top-10 finish of the year at the SunTrust Gator Invitational to open the spring season, recording back-to-back of scores of 70 before a 1-under-par 69 in the final round en route to a career-best 54-hole total of 209 ... Carded rounds of even-par 72 and 73 over the last 36 holes of the Tiger Invitational to pace the team and tie for sixth place overall with a 222 score ... Collected a 2-under-par 211 three-round total — highlighted by a season-best 3-under-par 68 over the middle 18 holes — to tie for eighth in the individual standings of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate to begin the year ... Used even-par scores in each of the final two rounds at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, placing 16th individually with a 219 54-hole score ... Tied for 17th place at the Mason Rudolph Championship with a 216 total after a 3-under-par 68 on the last day of the event ... Shot a 73 in each of the first two rounds of the David Toms Intercollegiate en route to tying for 20th in the individual standings ... Posted a 72 to lead the squad in the second round of the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate ... Began the SBC Championships by recording a 2-under-par 70.
Summer 2012: Fired a 7-under-par 137 — highlighted by a first-round 67 — to qualify for the United States Amateur Championship ... Adavanced to the second round of match play at the United States Amateur Public Links Championship, defeating 13th-seeded Casey Fernandez of Southern Mississippi 2 and 1 in his first match ... Carded a 5-under-par 67 in the second of two rounds of stroke play at the Cotton States Invitational, going on to win six matches in three days to claim the tournament championship.
2011-12: Ranked 15th in the Sun Belt Conference — and was second on the team — after averaging 73.77 strokes per round, earning first-team all-league honors ... Had two of USA’s four top-10 finishes, placing in the top 20 a team-high-tying five times ... Paced the Jaguars with nine rounds of par or better ... Fired a 4-under-par 67 in his collegiate debut, adding back-to-back scores of even-par 71 to tie for eighth at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate ... Led USA and tied for 17th place overall with a 220 54-hole total at the David Toms Intercollegiate to close out the fall, which included a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the first day of the tournament ... Recorded three straight top-15 finishes in the spring beginning with 1-over-par 217 total at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate after firing a 67 in the second round ... Opened the Louisiana Classics with a 4-under-par 68, going on to tie for 12th place with a 1-under-par 215 54-hole total ... Tied for 10th with a 2-under-par 214 54-hole score at the Linger Longer Invitational after a final-round 5-under-par 67 ... Carded a 1-under-par 70 on the last day of the Firestone Invitational, tying for 34th with a 220 total ... Tied for 46th place at the Inverness Intercollegiate ... Had a 72 in the second round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational as well.
Summer 2011: Was ninth in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship, posting a 36-hole score of 143 after carding a 70 on the first day ... Qualified for the Florida Open by shooting a 66, where he would go on to record a 74 on the second day of the tournament ... In his final event of the summer, tied for fifth at the Hardees Collegiate Invitational in Pensacola, Fla. ... Recorded a 215 total over 54 holes, opening the event with a 71 while firing a 70 in the final round ... Low score at the Greystone Invitational in Birmingham was a third-round 74.
2010-11: Sat out the season as a redshirt ... Made the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List.
Amateur Highlights: Fired a 67 in the second of two qualifying rounds for the U.S. Amateur, tying for 11th place in a field of 68 after 36 holes ... Tied for 24th place in a 75-player field at the American Junior Golf Association’s Columbus Junior presented by the Memorial in mid-July, carding rounds of 70 and 72 over the final 36 holes ... Tied for 30th out of 215 individuals at the Press Thornton Future Masters, recording scores of 72 and 73 in the final two rounds ... Earned four letters in golf at Pace High, where he was twice named the Northwest Florida Player of the Year ... Finished in a tie for 11th place at the state 2A championships as a senior with a two-round total of 145 after firing a 2-under-par 70 on the final day of the event ... Had qualified for the tournament with a 71 — which was good for a tie for third place — at the region championships ... Helped the Patriots advance to the 2008 state championships with a team-leading 74 at the region tournament, which was tied for third individually ... Was part of a PHS squad that won the district championship by three strokes that fall as well ... As a sophomore, helped the Patriots qualify for the state tournament for the first time in school history after advancing to a playoff individually at the region championships with a 69 ... Tied for 12th at the state tournament after carding a 72 in the second of two rounds ... His 74 at the district tournament that fall was the best score on the team as well ... Also helped Pace win the district title by seven shots his freshman season ... In the summer prior to his final year of high school, finished 10th in a field of 116 individuals at the 29th annual Bubba Conlee National Junior Golf Tournament with a 212 three-round total after firing a 68 in between scores of 72 ... Less than two weeks later, placed fourth out of 223 players with a total of 213 at the 60th annual Press Thornton Future Masters, where he posted a 68 again in the second of three rounds ... Was sixth in qualifying for the United States Golf Association Junior Amateur, while also collecting a 72 in the second round at the Nationwide Insurance Junior presented by Memorial one week later ... Shot a 72 in the second of three rounds at both the 13th annual Florida International Junior Golf Championships — where he placed fifth out of 41 competitors — and the Doral/Publix Junior Classic in the winter of 2008 ... Also qualified for match-play competition at the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur after recording a 150 two-round total at Shoal Creek Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala.
Personal: Full name is Joseph Tyler Klava ... Born April 20, 1992, in Nashville, Tenn. ... Son of Glenn Klava and Kelly Wright ... Father earned four letters in football at Troy from 1985-88 ... Likes to play ping-pong in his spare time ... Also recruited by Mississippi, Louisville, Wisconsin, South Florida and Louisiana-Lafayette ... Favorite movie is “Step Brothers” ... Favorite book is “Tiger Woods: How I Play Golf” ... Favorite teams are the New Orleans Saints and Boston Celtics ... Favorite golfer is Bubba Watson ... Favorite musical artist is Gorilla Zoe ... Favorite foods are pizza and subs ... Majoring in management.
