GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 22nd ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a 1-under par 559 Saturday to finish in a sixth place tie with Vanderbilt after two rounds of play at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville.
The Tigers are 15 shots behind leader College of Charleston, who shot a 16-under par 544. The host Florida Gators, Augusta State, Ole Miss and Georgia State round out the top five. The Tigers posted a 273 in the first round and a 286 in the second.
Junior Nathan Goulding finished in a tie for 15th place individually with J.J. Thompson of Ole Miss. Goulding shot was 2-under par for the day with a score of 138. Goulding has been on fire recently for the Tigers. At the Country Club of Louisiana Intercollegiate in October, he finished 10th overall after shooting back-to-back 69’s on the final day of play.
Alan Morgan and John Humphries are among six golfers tied for 17th place. Morgan and Humphries finished 1-under par for the day. Morgan shot a 66 and a 73 in the first two rounds, while Humphries posted scores of 71 and 68. Craig Taylor tied for 41st place, and Billy Dressler was 49th.
“We played pretty good in the morning, but were real sloppy in the afternoon”, said head coach Greg Jones. “We will play better tommorow.”
Jones said the Tigers were very sloppy in their putting game in the second round, especially on a course with an unusually high number of par-3 holes.
“This course had a lot of par 3’s on it, infact we played six, instead of the standard four, and we did not play them well and hit only 50 percent of the greens on the par 3’s.”
The Tigers have five teams ahead of them to catch on Sunday, and will need solid performances from everyone to have a chance to win the Gator.
“We need all five guys to play well tommorow, and I think they will. We will do fine.”
The Tigers will tee off around 8:30 Sunday for its final round. The Tigers will next participate in the 2001 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship February 19-20 in Jacksonville.
Agate to follow
Team Results (through two rounds)
1. College of Charleston, 273-271 — 544 -16; 2. Florida, 269-276 — 545 -15; 3. Augusta State, 274-273 — 547 -13; 4. Ole Miss, 276-272 — 548 -12; 5. Georgia State, 281-277–558 -2; t6. LSU 273-286 — 559 -1; t6. Vanderbilt 284-275 — 559 -1; 8. Ohio State 281-280 — 561 +1; t9.North Florida 287-276 — 563 +3; t9. Alabama-Birmingham 284-279–563 +3
Top 5 Individuals
1. Camilo Benedetti, Florida, 66-64–130 -10; 2. Troy Muller, Ole Miss, 66-66–132 -8; t3.Bruce McDonald, College of Charleston, 68-65–133 -7; t3. Michael Webb, Augusta State, 67-66–133 -7; t5. David Bennett, North Florida, 69-65–134 -6; t5. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 65-69–134 -6.