AUGUSTA, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a final-round 10-over par 298 on Sunday at the Forest Hills Golf Club to place 16th at the Cleveland Golf/ASU Invitational in Augusta, Ga.
The Tigers (No. 30 Golfweek) finished the two-day event with a 12-over 876 total, ahead of College of Charleston and Tulsa in one of college golf’s toughest fields of the year. Ten of the top 25 teams in the country as well as several of the top individuals were on hand for the tournament. The Tennessee Volunteers, ranked eight in the current Golfweek poll, fired a final-round 2-under 286 to win the tournament on Sunday. Third-ranked Wake Forest finished five strokes behind the Vols in second place at 18-under par.
Clemson (No. 2 Golfweek) placed third at 15-under par, while North Carolina State and Florida tied for fourth place at 13-under par. Twelve of the 18 teams in the field finished under par for the tournament. Host school Augusta State fired a 5-under 283 on Sunday to finish sixth. Tennessee freshman David Skinns edged Clemson’s Gregg Jones in a playoff to win the individual title. Both players fired 13-under 203s in the final round.
Skinns was the leader after Saturday’s play while Jones fired a 66 on Sunday to jump from third place to the top spot. Skinns shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday.
Junior John Humphries shot a 2-under 70 of his own in the final round to place in a tie for 33rd, at even-par. True freshman Heath West shot a final-round 6-over 78 to finish 35th at 1-over par. Senior Nathan Goulding tied for 52nd place at 4-over par 220. Goulding shot a 4-over 76 on Sunday.
Jason Horrell shot a 2-over 74 on Sunday to tie for 79th place and Garrett Prather finished 86th at 14-over.
The tournament featured seven teams in LSU’s district (District III South).
Eight teams are selected from the district to play in one of three regionals to be held May 16-18 at three sites around the country. Last season LSU finished 19th at the East Regional held at Williamsburg, Va.
The Tigers will take a two-week break from action before heading to the 2002 Southeastern Conference Championships on April 19-21 at Sea Island, Ga.
TEAM SCORES ( Current Rankings according to Golfweek in parentheses- Top 25 Only)
1. Tennessee (8) 283-272-286 — 841 -23; 2. Wake Forest (3) 281-279-286 — 846 -18; 3. Clemson (2) 289-278-282 — 849 -15; t4. North Carolina State (23) 290-277-284 — 851 -13; t4. Florida (4) 287-280-284 — 851 -13; 6. Virginia tech (17) 287-286-280 — 853 -11; 7. Augusta State (16) 283-289-283 — 855 -9; 8. Duke 290-282-284 — 856 -8; 9. South Carolina 289-287-283 — 859 -5; t10. North Florida 287-284-291 — 862 -2; t10. UAB 288-288-286 — 862 -2; 12. Georgia (14) 292-283-288 — 863 -1; 13. Georgia Southern 293-287-290 — 870 +6; t14. North Carolina 289-286-297 — 872 +8; t14. South Carolina-Aiken 289-291-292 — 872 +8; 16. LSU 287-291-298 — 876 +12; 17. College of Charleston 293-290-294 — 877 +13; 18. Tulsa 297-290-294 — 881 +17
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (** Won in playoff)
**1. David Skinns, Tennessee, 66-67-70 — 203 -13; 2. Gregg Jones, Clemson, 69-68-66 — 203 -12; t3. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 68-69-68 — 205 -11; t3. Johnson Wagner, Virginia Tech, 72-67-66 — 205 -11; 5. Graeme McDowell, UAB, 68-71-67 — 206 -10; t6. Oliver Wilson, Augusta State, 69-68-70 — 207 -9; t6. Bill Haas, Wake Forest, 69-70-68 — 207 -9; t6. Andrew Black, Tennessee, 72-66-69 — 207 -9; 9. Mike Castleforte, Duke, 69-71-68 — 208 -8; t10. Martin Rominger, South Carolina, 72-66-71 — 209 -7; t10. Justin Walters, North Carolina State, 71-67-71 — 209 -7; t10. Ryan Hybl, Georgia, 67-68-74 — 209 -7; t10. David Miller, Georgia, 72-68-69 — 209 -7; t10. Bob Cherry, North Carolina, 66-72-71 — 209 -7
LSU SCORES
t33. John Humphries 70-76-70 — 216 E
t35. Heath West 71-68-78 — 217 +1
t52. Nathan Goulding 74-70-76 — 220 +4
t79. Jason Horrell 75-77-74 — 226 +10
86. Garrett Prather 72-79-79 — 230 +14