SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a final-round 16-over par 296 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth place at the 2002 Southeastern Conference Men’s Golf Championship held at the Sea Island Golf Club.
The Tigers were tied for second place with Florida after Saturday’s round, but were unable to make up much ground and finished tied with Vanderbilt. Auburn, the leader heading into the final round on Sunday, shot a 10-over 290 to win their first SEC title since 1981, placing four strokes ahead of Florida. Georgia, the defending champions, fired 4-over 284, the best score of the day, to move up from fifth place and finish third.
LSU still recorded their best finish at the SEC Championship since 1997, when they finished third at Opelika, Ala. The Tigers have won the title 15 times in school history, the most recent was back-to-back championships in 1986 and 1987.
True freshman Heath West made another strong statement that he should be considered for SEC Freshman of the Year, as he fired a final-round 2-over par 72 on Sunday to finish in a tie for fifth place at 4-over 214 for the tournament. West posted a 2-under 68 in the second round Saturday, the second-lowest round shot all day. West finished tied for fifth with Florida’s Camilo Villegas and Auburn’s Lee Williams. Florida’s Camilo Benedetti won the individual title on Sunday, firing a 2-under 68 to finish at even-par 210 for the tournament, one stroke better than Georgia’s Ryan Hybl.
Junior John Humphries shot a 2-over 72 on Sunday to finish at 6-over 216 and tie for eighth place. Redshirt freshman Jason Horrell came up with his second-best round of the season, also shooting a 72 to finish in a 27th place-tie at 12-over 222. Four golfers finished tied for 27th, including David Skinns of Tennessee, the other top candidate for the Freshman of the Year honor in the conference along with West.
Senior Nathan Goulding had a rough final round, shooting a 10-over 80 to finish tied for 42nd place at 17-over 227. Goulding was tied for 20th place after Saturday’s action after shooting a 73. Garrett Prather also shot an 80 on Sunday, and finished tied for 36th place at 15-over 225.
“It was a positive tournament overall, but we wish we could have finished a little better today,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “It is hard when you have to count an 80, and we had to do that so that hurts. Heath (West) and John (Humphries) each had real good tournaments, so that is one thing to look at and be happy about.”
LSU will now wait to see if they are awarded a second-straight regional bid. The NCAA regionals will be held May 16-18 at three sites around the country. The East Regional will be held at Roswell, Ga., the Central will be played at Little Rock, Ark., and the West Regional will be at Albuquerque, N.M. The Tigers finished tied for 19th at the East Regional last season at Williamsburg, Va.
2002 SEC Championship
Course: Sea Island Golf Club- Seaside Course
Par: 70
Yardage: 6,849
TEAM SCORES (PAR 280)
1. Auburn 285-282-290 — 857 +17; 2. Florida 284-294-286 — 864 +24; 3. Georgia 298-284-284 — 866 +26; t4. LSU 292-286-296 — 874 +34; t4. Vanderbilt 294-291-289 — 874 +34; 6. Arkansas 290-299-289 — 878 +38; 7. Tennessee 296-285-300 — 881 +41; 8. Kentucky 296-303-288 — 887 +47; 9. Alabama 305-289-298 — 892 +52; t10. Ole Miss 298-300-298 — 896 +56; t10. South Carolina 302-289-305 — 896 +56; 12. Mississippi State 306-301-303 — 910 +70
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (PAR 210)
1. Camilo Benedetti, Florida, 70-72-68 — 210 E; 2. Ryan Hybl, Georgia, 71-69-71 — 211 +1; 3. Jay Mundy, Auburn, 70-67-75 — 212 +2; 4. Will Claxton, 72-68-73 — 213 +3; t5. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 68-70-76 — 214 +4; t5. Heath West, LSU, 74-68-72 — 214 +4; t5. Lee Williams, Auburn, 71-72-71 — 214 +4; t8. Mark Donnell, Vanderbilt, 71-70-75 — 216 +6; t8. John Humphries, LSU, 73-71-72 — 216 +6; t8. Martin Rominger, South Carolina, 72-71-73 — 216 +6
LSU SCORES
t5. Heath West 74-68-72 — 214 +4
t8. John Humphries 73-71-72 — 216 +6
t27. Jason Horrell 76-74-72 — 222 +12
t36. Garrett Prather 71-74-80 — 225 +15
t42. Nathan Goulding 74-73-80 — 227 +17