STATESBORO, Ga. — The 23rd-ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a 6-over par 582 on Saturday at the Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational to finish the first two rounds in eighth place at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga.
The Tigers shot a 5-over 293 in round one and followed that with a 1-over 289 in the second round. LSU is just three shots out of third place, where Clemson and Duke are tied at 3-over 579. Augusta State is leading the field after a day at 7-under 569. Wake Forest is in second place at 3-under 573, while Georgia and Tennessee are tied for fifth at 4-over 580. Florida is a stroke ahead of LSU at 5-over 581 in seventh place.
Junior John Humphries and true freshman Heath West continue to lead LSU of late, as both golfers are in the top 20 after Saturday’s play. West, named the Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week on Wednesday, is tied for seventh with six others after firing a 1-under 143 Saturday. Humphries is tied for 18th place after shooting a 1-over 145. Senior Nathan Goulding is in a tie for 25th place at 2-over 146. Garrett Prather is tied for 39th place at 4-over 148, and Jason Horrell is tied for 57th place at 6-over 150.
“We played pretty solid today, but nothing spectacular,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We just did not make any putts at all, and that is really the reason that we are not in third place right now. We are only three strokes behind those teams in third place right now.”
Clemson’s D.J. Trahan is the individual leader after Saturday’s rounds at 6-under 138. Trahan tied for third place at last season’s Schenkel. This year’s event features one of the strongest fields in all of collegiate golf, and that was evident by how close the players finished to each other on Saturday. Only eight strokes separates Trahan, the leader, from nine golfers tied for 25th place, including LSU’s Goulding. Four teams currently ranked in the top five by GolfWeek are participating this weekend. Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida and Tennessee are currently 2-5 in the rankings. LSU is No. 36 in that poll, and 23 in the latest GolfWorld poll.
“This is just an unbelievable field here this weekend, even tougher than at the Gator Invitational that we went to earlier this spring,” said Jones. “There are so many good players and quite a few of the top teams in the country are here.”
LSU won the Gator Invitational on Feb. 10 at Gainesville, Fla. The Tigers edged three teams, including host and defending national champion Florida, by one stroke to win the title. It was LSU’s first win there since 1988.
The tournament wraps up on Sunday with the final round teeing off at 8 a.m. The Tigers are paired with Florida and North Carolina State for the final round.
Agate to follow:
TEAM SCORES
1. Augusta State 284-285 — 569 -7; 2. Wake Forest 288-285 — 573 -3; t3. Clemson 286-293 — 579 +3; t3. Duke 286-293 — 579 +3; t5. Georgia 294-286 — 580 +4; t5. Tennessee 292-288 — 580 +4; 7. Florida 292-289 — 581 +5; 8. LSU 293-289 — 582 +6; 9. North Carolina State 294-289 — 583 +7; 10. Georgia Southern 291-295 — 586 +10; 11. East Tennessee State 294-294 — 588 +12; 12. Washington 301-288 — 589 +13; 13. Auburn 293-299 — 592 +16; 14. North Carolina 298-298 — 596 +20; 15. South Carolina 305-296 — 601 +25
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. D.J. Trahan, Clemson, 69-69 — 138 -6; t2. Bill Haas, Wake Forest, 69-71 — 140 -4; t2. Justin Walters, North Carolina State, 68-72 — 140 -4; t2. Michael Webb, Augusta State, 70-70 — 140 -4; t5. Jay Haas, Augusta State, 75-67 — 142 -2; t5. Chris Yoder, Wake Forest, 70-72 — 142 -2; t7. Mike Castleforte, Duke, 70-73 — 143 -1; t7. Kevin Haefner, Auburn, 69-74 — 143 -1; t7. Ryan Hybl, Georgia, 73-70 — 143 -1; t7. Ross McGowan, Tennessee, 72-71 — 143 -1; t7. Travis Mobley, Georgia Southern, 71-72 — 143 -1; t7. Bryant Odom, Georgia, 71-72 — 143 -1; t7. Heath West, LSU, 72-71 — 143 -1
LSU SCORES
t7. Heath West 72-71 — 143 -1
t18. John Humphries 72-73 — 145 +1
t25. Nathan Goulding 74-72 — 146 +2
t39. Garrett Prather 75-73 — 148 +4
t57. Jason Horrell 76-74 — 150 +6