KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a final-round 22-over par 310 on Tuesday to finish tied for 13th place with two other teams at the Cleveland Golf/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate at Turtle Point Golf Club.
The Tigers, also 13th after the first two rounds on Monday, struggled again on Tuesday as just one Tiger had a sub-par round. LSU finished the event with a 56-over par 920 total. The host College of Charleston won the tournament with a 15-over 879 score. Ole Miss finished eight strokes behind the Cougars at 23-over 887.
Senior John Humphries finished the tournament with a solid 1-under par 71 on Tuesday to place in a tie for 27th place. Humphries shot an even-par 72 in round one and then followed that with an 83 in the second round before finishing the tournament on a good note. Sophomore Heath West had a rough final round, shooting a 10-over par 82 on Tuesday to tie for 35th place. Jeff Riemann, making his first collegiate start, shot a 12-over 84 in the final round and finished tied for 47th place.
True freshman Aaron Smith shot a 1-over 73 in his LSU debut and tied for 55th place. Sophomore Tucker Ervin, a native of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., shot a 15-over 87 in his final round and finished in a tie for 77th place.
Viginia Tech, currently ranked 19th in the Golf World Coaches Top 25 poll, finished third at 32-over 896. Alabama and Baylor rounded out the top five. College of Charleston’s Bruce McDonald won medalist honors with a 2-under 214. He fired a 3-under 69 in round three Tuesday. The Cougars won the tournament for the second-straight season. LSU placed eighth at the event a year ago.
“We definitely learned a lot from this tournament,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We actually learned a lot more from this type of disappointing finish than say a fifth-place finish at a mediocre tournament.”
LSU played the tournament with one of its youngest lineups in years. The Tigers started one true freshman, three sophomores and just one senior. Jason Horrell and Garrett Prather, two regulars for the Tigers last season, did not qualify for the trip as the team had what Jones called “very competitive” qualifying play last week in Baton Rouge.
Next up for LSU is the Windon Memorial Classic on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Glenview, Ill.
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. College of Charleston 293-288-298 — 879, +15; 2. Ole Miss 299-291-297 — 887, +23; 3. (19) Virginia Tech 292-303-301 — 896, +32; 4. Alabama 300-294-303 — 897, +33; 5. Baylor 301-300-298 — 899, +35; 6. Kentucky 306-299-296 — 901, +37; 7. Vanderbilt 293-301-308 — 902, +38; 8. South Carolina-Aiken 306-299-300 — 905, +41; 9. Florida State 297-304-305 — 906, +42; 10. Kent State 306-301-300 — 907, +43; 11. (22) Tulsa 313-296-305 — 914, +50; 12. (10) North Carolina State 301-308-307 — 916, +52; t13. South Carolina 309-301-310 — 920, +56; t13. Maryland 307-304-309 — 920, +56; t13. LSU 296-314-310 — 920, +56
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Bruce McDonald, College of Charleston, 75-70-69 — 214 -2; 2. Brandt Snedeker, Vanderbilt, 69-71-75 — 215 –1; 3. John Assey, College of Charleston, 72-70-75 — 217 +1; 4. Peter Laws, Kent State, 74-71-74 — 219 +3; t5. Adam Meyer, Baylor, 73-75-72 — 220 +6; t5. Pope Spruiell, Ole Miss, 74-73-73 — 220 +6; t5. Ryan Sinett, Virginia Tech, 71-78-71 — 220 +6; t5. Jonathan Lenz, Ole Miss, 75-72-73 — 220 +6; t5. Joe Hurtuk, Kent State, 74-73-73 — 220 +6
LSU SCORES
T.27 John Humphries 72-83-71 — 226 +10
T.35 Heath West 75-72-82 — 229 +13
T.47 Jeff Riemann 72-77-84 — 233 +17
T.55 Aaron Smith 80-82-73 — 235 +19
T.77 Tucker Ervin 77-83-87 — 247 +31