SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team shot its best round of the weekend on Sunday in the final round of the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championship, a 13-over par 293, but still placed 12th overall at 77-over par 917.
Florida won the 2003 team title, the school’s 13th all-time, and first since 1999 in Lexington, Ky. The Gators fired a tournament-low 9-under 271 in the final round on Sunday to finish at 16-over par 856, six strokes ahead of defending champion Auburn. Florida freshman Brett Stegmaier shot a 6-under 64 on Sunday and claimed medalist honors, shooting an SEC-Championship 54-hole record score of 7-under par 203. Florida came back from eight shots back entering Sunday’s play to win the championship.
The 12th-place finish broke a string of six-consecutive top-8 finishes at the SEC Championship for LSU. Senior John Humphries recorded his second-straight top-10 finish at the SEC Championship, as he fired a final-round 1-under par 69 and tied for fifth place at 4-over par 214. Humphries tied for eighth place a year ago at the SEC’s. The Alexandria, La., native earned his sixth top-10 finish of the season and second-straight top-5 finish. Humphries tied for fifth place in LSU’s last tournament, the ASU Indian Golf Classic in Jonesboro, Ark., shooting a 1-over par 217.
Auburn, the 2002 SEC champion, finished second at 22-over par 862, Georgia was third at 26-over 866, Tennessee placed fourth at 30-over 870, and South Carolina finished fifth at 35-over 875. None of the 12 teams finished under par for the second-consecutive season.
Sophomore Tucker Ervin, one of three LSU golfers making their debut at the championship, also fired a 1-under 69 in the final round and finished in a tie for 24th place at 11-over par 221. Fellow sophomore Heath West, who tied for fifth at the 2002 SEC Championship, tied for 36th place at 15-over par 225 after shooting a 1-over 71 on Sunday. Freshman David Aitchison shot a 14-over par 84 and finished 59th at 48-over par 248. Freshman Aaron Smith shot a final-round 21-over 91 and finished in 60th place at 56-over 266.
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 292-293-271 — 856 +16; 2. Auburn 291-193-278 — 862 +22; 3. Georgia 288-289289 — 866 +26; 4. Tennessee 289-288-293 — 870 +30; 5. South Carolina 298-285-292 — 875 +35; 6. Alabama 293-292-294 — 879 +39; 7. Arkansas 299-291-291 — 881 +41; 8. Ole Miss 304-290-296 — 890 +50; 9. Kentucky 303-307-289 — 899 +59; 10. Vanderbilt 302-310-290 — 902 +62; 11. Mississippi State 313-303-298 — 914 +74; 12. LSU 315-309-293 — 917 +77
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 67-72-64 — 203 -7; 2. Kevin Kisner, Georgia, 67-69-68 — 204 -6; 3. Will Claxton, Auburn, 68-74-68 — 210 E; 4. Andrew Pratt, Tennessee, 72-69-70 — 211 +1; t5. Andrew Dahl, Arkansas, 71-70-73 — 214 +4; t5. David Denham, Georgia, 69-72-73 — 214 +4; t5. John Humphries, LSU, 71-74-69 — 214 +4
LSU SCORES
t5. John Humphries 71-74-69 — 214 +4
t24. Tucker Ervin 80-72-69 — 221 +11
t36. Heath West 79-75-71 — 225 +15
59. David Aitchison 86-88-84 — 258 +48
60. Aaron Smith 85-90-91 — 266 +56