STATESBORO, Ga. — The 28th-ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a 1-over par 577 on Saturday on the first day of the 2004 Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational to finish the day in a eighth place entering Sunday’s final round at Forest Heights Country Club.
Junior Heath West led the way for the Tigers on Saturday as he shot a 2-under par 142 to finish the day tied for 11th place. West shot rounds of 70-72 on Saturday. Fellow junior Andrew Lanahan fired a career-low 6-under 66 in round one to finish with a 1-under 143 total and is in a tie for 17th place.
Senior Garrett Prather fired a career-low 4-under par 68 in round two. Prather collected five birdies in the first round and is tied for 23rd. Junior Brandon Aydlett is tied for 45th place after shooting a 4-over 148. Junior Jeff Riemann shot a 12-over 156 and is in a tie for 71st place.
“I guess we are really not in that bad of a position considering the quality of this field,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We really played pretty well and the fact that we are only eight shots behind the leader speaks a lot for how good these teams are and how we played today,” Jones said.
“It was a good day for Garrett (Prather) today to go out there and play like he did, because he was not feeling good at all but he still went out there and battled and got a round he needed,” Jones said. “Heath (West) also played very well all day today.”
Wake Forest, ranked 19th in the nation, leads the field after 36 holes as the Demon Deacons fired a 7-under par 569 to take a one-shot lead over second-place and top-ranked Florida. The Gators ended the day at 6-under 570. Duke, ranked in the top 30, shot a 5-under 571 to finish the day in third. Ohio State currently stands in fourth place after shooting a 3-under 573, and No. 15 Augusta State and No. 14 South Carolina are tied for fifth at 2-under 574. LSU is tied for eighth place but only eight shots off the lead.
Wake Forest’s Bill Haas fired a 12-under 132 to lead all individuals after two rounds of play.
The 15-team field features 13 teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, including Florida, Clemson, and Georgia, who are the top three teams in the nation.
The third and final round will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday. The Tigers are in search of their first Schenkel title since 1989.
LSU will host the fourth-annual LSU Spring Invitational April 2-4 at the University Club in Baton Rouge.
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Wake Forest 287-282 — 569 –7; 2. Florida 280-290 — 570 –6; 3. Duke 285-286 — 571 –5; 4. Ohio State 290-283 — 573 –3; t5. South Carolina 292-282 — 574 –2; t5. Augusta State 289-285 — 574 –2; 7. Georgia 289-286 — 575 –1; 8. LSU 287-290 — 577 +1; t9. Clemson 297-283 — 580 +4; t9. USC 285-295 — 580 +4; 11. Georgia Southern 295-288 — 583 +7; 12. Tennessee 295-290 — 585 +9; 13. Auburn 295-292 — 587 +11; 14. North Carolina 297-291 — 588 +12; 15. North Carolina State 305-289 — 594 +18
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Bill Haas, Wake Forest, 68-64 — 132 –12; 2. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 68-70 — 138 –6; 3. Matt Every, Florida, 67-72 — 139 –5; t4. Major Manning, Augusta State, 71-69 — 140 –4; t4. Martin Ureta, North Carolina, 70-70 — 140 –4; t4. Alex Wilson, Duke, 68-72 — 140 –4
LSU SCORES
T11. Heath West 70-72 — 142 -2
T17. Andrew Lanahan 66-77 — 143 -1
T23. Garrett Prather 76-68 — 144 E
T45. Brandon Aydlett 75-73 — 148 +4
T71. Jeff Riemann 76-80 — 156 +12