PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a 4-over par 292 on Tuesday in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship held at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to tie Georgia for 12th place.
The Tigers improved from scores of 298-297 on Monday when they ended the first two rounds at 19-over par and in 14th place overall. LSU finished with an 887 total and placed four strokes ahead of tournament host North Florida. Augusta State won its fourth-straight tournament this season and became the first team besides Florida to win the MBCC title in five years, as the Gators came into the event as the four-time defending champion.
Clemson, the No.1-ranked team in the country, finished second, 10 strokes behind Augusta State. Texas placed third, Wake Forest fourth, and Florida fifth, as each team was separated by a single stroke. The tournament featured one of this season’s best fields in any collegiate tournament, as six of the 10 teams in the current GOLFWEEK/SAGARIN rankings competed the past two days.
Clemson’s All-American D.J. Trahan claimed medalist honors by edging North Carolina’s Dustin Bray and Duke’s Ryan Blaum for the title. All three golfers ended the final round tied at 5-under 211, with Trahan having entered Tuesday’s final round in 15th place. LSU senior John Humphries finished in a tie for seventh place at 2-under 214. He shot a 3-over 75 on Tuesday after shooting 72-67 on Monday. The seventh-place finish is his second-straight top-10 finish and second this season.
Sophomore Heath West vaulted from a tie for 61st place to a tie for 42nd by firing a 1-under 71 in his final round. True freshman and Florida native Aaron Smith shot a 5-over 75 and tied for 49th place at 9-over par 225. Sophomore Tucker Ervin also shot a 1-under 71 and tied for 58th place at 11-over 227. Freshman David Aitchison shot a 77 and ended the tournament alone in 71st place at 18-over 234.
“We shot much better today but we dug ourselves a deep hole and were not able to fully recover today,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We just have to look at our great improvement in terms of strokes rather than the finish.”
The Tigers return home next to host the 3rd-annual LSU Spring Invitational from Feb. 28-March 2 at the University Club in Baton Rouge.
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Augusta State 285-281-286 — 852 -12; 2. Clemson 287-290-285 — 862 -2; 3. Texas 290-292-288 — 870 +6; 4. Wake Forest 289-291-291 — 871 +7; 5. Florida 285-292-295 — 872 +8; 6. Oklahoma State 281-295-299 — 875 +11; 7. North Carolina State 288-293-295 — 876 +12; 8. Tennessee 287-298-292 — 877 +13; 9. Duke 293-295-292 — 880 +16; 10. South Carolina 289-295-298 — 882 +18; 11. North Carolina 289-296-299 — 884 +20; t12. LSU 298-297-292 — 887 +23; t12. Georgia 302-286-299 — 887 +23; 14. North Florida 299-293-299 — 891 +27; 15. Florida State 300-298-316 — 914 +50
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
**Won in playoff
**1. D.J. Trahan, Clemson, 73-71-67 — 211 -5; t2. Dustin Bray, North Carolina, 69-67-75 — 211 -5; t2. Ryan Blaum, Duke, 68-75-68 — 211 -5; t4. Emmett Turner, Augusta State, 75-70-68 — 213 -3; t4. Russell Surber, Texas, 71-72-70 — 213 -3; t4. Brent Wanner, Wake Forest, 71-68-74 — 213 -3
LSU SCORES
t7. John Humphries 72-67-75 — 214 -2
t42. Heath West 76-76-71 — 223 +7
t49. Aaron Smith 75-75-75 — 225 +9
t58. Tucker Ervin 75-81-71 — 227 +11
71. David Aitchison 78-79-77 — 234 +18