TAMPA, Fla. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a final-round 8-over 296 Tuesday to finish in eighth place at the Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Intercollegiate at the Old Memorial Golf Course in Tampa.
The Tigers finished the two-day event with a team total of 22-over 886. LSU shot an 11-over 299 in round one and a 3-over 291 in round two. Junior Garrett Prather was LSU’s best finisher, placing in a tie for 18th. Prather shot a 4-over 220, including a 1-under 71 in the second round on Monday. John Humphries finished one stroke behind Prather in 24th place with a 221 total. True freshman Heath West shot an even-par 72 in the final round to finish in 32nd place.
“We had a decent tournament, I feel like we are ready to knock the door down pretty soon,” LSU head coach Greg Jones said. “We have a lot of young guys who are under some pressure because they realize that every round counts.”
West, a freshman from Dothan, Ala., has now played in two of three tournaments for LSU this season. He shot a 2-over 218 at LSU’s first tournament of the season, the Cleveland Golf/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in September, to place 25th. Senior Nathan Goulding placed 50th, shooting a 9-over 225. Jason Horrell finished 65th.
Florida, the defending tournament and national champions, won their second straight Gary Koch title by firing a 21-under 843 to finish 16 strokes ahead of North Florida and TCU. The Gators had just one round over par in the tournament, the first round (4-over), and were a combined 25-under par in rounds two and three. Florida’s Camilo Villegas and Bubba Dickerson finished first and second individually. Villegas fired a 9-under 207, and Dickerson shot an 8-under 208. Villegas fired a 10-under 62 in the second round to set a course record.
North Florida and TCU placed second at 16 strokes back, and Kentucky and Ohio State finished fourth and fifth. Ole Miss and North Carolina State tied for sixth, nine strokes ahead of the Tigers.
“All are guys are capable and talented enough, we just need to keep playing.”
The eighth place finish was LSU’s second top-10 finish of the season. The Tigers opened the season with an eighth-place finish at the Cleveland Intercollegiate in September. LSU’s next tournament is the Tennessee Tournament of Champions Oct. 22-23 at Knoxville, Tenn.
LSU will attempt to defend their 2000 Tournament of Champions title. Led by All-American Alan Morgan last season, the Tigers won their first tournament under third-year head coach Greg Jones.
TEAM SCORES
1. Florida 292-273-278–843 -21; t2. North Florida 293-289-287–869 +5; t2. TCU 296-284-289–869 +5; 4. Kentucky 289-290-293–872 +8; 5. Ohio State 290-292-291–873 +9; t6. Ole Miss 297-295-285–877 +13; t6. North Carolina State 294-294-289–877 +13; 8. LSU 299-291-296–886 +22; 9. Florida State 306-294-289–889 +25; 10. Coll. Charleston 304-298-289–891 +27; 11. Rhode Island 305-297-291–893 +29; 12. Texas A&M 308-295-291–893 +29; 13. Georgia State 306-306-290–902 +38; 14. South Florida 304-296-305–905 +41; 15. Central Florida 312-305-298–915 +51
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 73-62-72–207 -9; 2. Bubba Dickerson, Florida, 70-69-69–208 -8; t3.Adam Rubinson, TCU, 71-70-70–211 -5; t3. Justin Collins, Ohio State, 68-71-72–211 -5; t5. John Holmes, Kentucky, 72-70-71–213 -3; t5. Brad Schwartz, North Florida, 71-70-72–213 -3
LSU SCORES
t18. Garrett Prather 75-71-74–220 +4
t24. John Humphries 74-73-74–221 +5
t32. Heath West 75-75-72–222 +6
t50. Nathan Goulding 75-72-78–225 +9
65. Jason Horrell 78-77-76–231 +15