JONESBORO, Ark. — The LSU men’s golf team fired a final-round 9-over par 297 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for fifth at the ASU Indian Golf Classic held at RidgePointe Country Club in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Tigers finished the tournament with a 24-over par 888 total to tie Arkansas-Little Rock for fifth place. North Texas won the title by shooting an 11-over 875. Host Arkansas State finished nine strokes behind North Texas at 20-over 884. South Alabama sophomore Gareth Maybin claimed medalist honors, shooting a 5-under par 211. North Texas and Arkansas-Little Rock entered Tuesday’s round tied for the overall lead, but UALR shot 25 strokes over par (313) on Tuesday to tie LSU for fifth.
The 19-team field battled harsh winds all day as no team shot under par in the final round. The conditions were equally as brutal on Monday as high scores were the norm. Nebraska placed third at 22-over 886, and Iowa State finished fourth at 23-over 887.
Senior John Humphries was LSU’s top finisher in the tournament, as he shot a 1-over par 217 to tie for fifth place. Humphries shot 73-70-74 and earned his fifth top-10 finish of the season and second top-5 finish of the season. Sophomore Heath West shot a 4-over par 220 to tie for 17th place, his fifth top-20 finish of the season. Freshman David Aitchison placed in a tie for 43rd at 11-over par 227. Sophomore Tucker Ervin shot a 13-over 229 and tied for 55th, and Brandon Aydlett tied for 63rd place at 15-over 231.
“I am pretty happy with our performance here this week, because this was a tournament that we needed to do well in if we want any chance to get into a regional,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We really needed head-to-head wins against both Southern Miss and South Alabama and we got them.”
“We will have to see what happens, but this was a tournament that we only played in because one of our home events this season was rained out,” Jones said. “We knew we needed to have a chance to play Southern Miss and South Alabama and try to beat them, and we did, so I am proud of our guys,” Jones said.
LSU earned their fifth top-8 finish this season and first top-5 since winning the LSU Spring Invitational on March 2 in Baton Rouge.
LSU will next travel to the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championships April 25-27 in Sea Island, Ga.
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. North Texas 286-289-300 — 875 +11; 2. Arkansas State 292-296-296 — 884 +20; 3. Nebraska 293-292-301 — 886 +22; 4. Iowa State 287-301-299 — 887 +23; t5. LSU 296-295-297 — 888 +24; t5. Arkansas-Little Rock 285-290-313 — 888 +24; t7. Missouri 295-294-300 — 889 +25; t7. Rice 292-296-301 — 889 +25; 9. South Alabama 291-298-301 — 890 +26; 10. Louisville 295-289-312 — 896 +32; 11. South Florida 297-296-307 — 900 +36; 12. Oral Roberts 294-308-299 — 901 +37; 13. Southern Miss 295-302-308 — 905 +41; 14. SW Missouri State 296-310-302 — 908 +44; 15. Tulane 298-300-312 — 910 +46; 16. Middle Tennessee State 303-307-305 — 915 +51; 17. Northern Iowa 307-306-305 — 918 +54; 18. Illinois State 309-306-311 — 926 +62; 19. Louisiana Tech 299-317-321 — 937 +73
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama, 69-70-72 — 211 -5; 2. Ryan Gildersleeve, South Alabama, 66-74-72 — 212 -4; 3. Freddy Espericueta, North Texas, 70-70-73 — 213 -3; 4. Oscar Fraustro, South Florida, 72-69-74 — 215 -1; t5. John Humphries, LSU, 73-70-74 — 217 +1; t5. Tyler Swanson, Iowa State, 72-71-74 – 217 +1; t5. Charlie Woo, Louisville, 75-68-74 — 217 +1
LSU SCORES
t5. John Humphries 73-70-74 — 217 +1
t17. Heath West 73-74-73 — 220 +4
t43. David Aitchison 76-76-75 — 227 +11
t55. Tucker Ervin 79-75-75 — 229 +13
t63. Brandon Aydlett 74-76-81 — 231 +15