STATESBORO, Ga. — The 28th-ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a 15-over par 879 to finish seventh out of 15 teams at the 2004 Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational on Sunday at Forest Heights Country Club.
The Tigers shot a 14-over 302 in Sunday’s final round to finish just one shot behind second-ranked Clemson, who placed sixth at 14-over 878. The field featured 11 teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, including the nation’s top three teams.
Florida, the No. 1 team in the country, shot a 1-over 289 in the final round to win the team title, finishing at 5-under 859. The Gators placed 10 strokes ahead of runner-up and No. 3 Georgia, who shot a 5-over 869. South Carolina, ranked 14th, finished third at 7-over 871, Duke shot an 8-over 872 to place fourth, and 15th- ranked Augusta State shot a 12-over 876 to round out the top five.
Florida’s Matt Every claimed the individual title by shooting a 9-under 207, including a 4-under 68 in the final round. Wake Forest’s Bill Haas, the leader after 36 holes, finished second at 7-under 209. Haas struggled on Sunday as he shot a 5-over 77.
“This tournament proves that we can play with anybody so our guys have just got to start believing that and go out each time and play that way,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “I am seeing some good signs from them but we have got to keep getting better,” Jones said.
Junior Heath West led the Tigers by shooting a 1-over 217 to tie for 14th place, his fifth top-20 finish this season. West shot a final-round 3-over 75 after posting rounds of 70-72 on Saturday. Fellow junior Andrew Lanahan shot a 2-over 218 to tie for 17th place. Lanahan also shot a 3-over 75 on Sunday and picked up his third top-20 finish of the season.
Senior Garrett Prather placed in a tie for 34th after shooting a 5-over 221. Prather recorded a 5-over 77 on Sunday after ending Saturday with a career-low 4-under 68. Junior Brandon Aydlett shot a 10-over 82 on Sunday and finished tied for 66th at 14-over 230. Junior Jeff Riemann finished 68th with a 15-over 231. He shot a 3-over 75 in the final round.
LSU will now turn its attention to defending its home turf, as the Tigers welcome 18 teams to town for the fourth-annual LSU Spring Invitational from April 2-4 at the University Club in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are the three-time defending champions of the event.
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Florida 280-290-289 — 859 -5; 2. Georgia 289-286-294 — 869 +5; 3. South Carolina 292-282-297 — 871 +7; 4. Duke 285-286-301 — 872 +8; 5. Augusta State 289-285-302 — 876 +12; 6. Clemson 297-283-298 — 878 +14; 7. LSU 287-290-302 — 879 +15; t8. USC 285-295-301 — 881 +17; t8. Wake Forest 287-282-312 — 881 +17; 10. Ohio State 290-283-309 — 882 +18; 11. Georgia Southern 295-288-301 — 884 +20; 12. North Carolina State 305-289-296 — 890 +26; 13. North Carolina 297-291-304 — 892 +28; 14. Tennessee 295-290-308 — 893 +29; 15. Auburn 295-292-308 — 895 +31
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Matt Every, Florida, 67-72-68 — 207 -9; 2. Bill Haas, Wake Forest, 68-64-77 — 209 -7; 3. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 68-70-74 — 212 -4; 4. Nathan Smith, Duke, 71-72-70 — 213 -3; t5. Colin Biles, Ohio State, 70-71-73 — 214 -2; t5. Scott Oxandaboure, USC, 68-73-73 — 214 -2; t5. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 70-72-72 — 214 -2
LSU SCORES
T14. Heath West 70-72-75 — 217 +1
T17. Andrew Lanahan 66-77-75 — 218 +2
T34. Garrett Prather 76-68-77 — 221 +5
T66. Brandon Aydlett 75-73-82 — 230 +14
68. Jeff Riemann 76-80-75 — 231 +15