BATON ROUGE — The 27th-ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a 3-under par 285 on Saturday in round two of the fourth-annual LSU Spring Invitational to enter the final round in fifth place at the University Club.
Furman shot a 5-under 583 on Saturday to take the lead entering Sunday’s final round of play. The Paladins are currently 15-under par with a 561 score, leading Middle Tennessee State by four strokes. Middle Tennessee shot a 3-over 291 in round two and is at 11-under 565. The 17-team field blistered the course on Saturday in near-perfect playing conditions as 11 teams have posted 36-hole scores that rank in the top five in the short history of the tournament.
Furman’s T.J. Blanford fired a 4-under 68 on Saturday and is the leading individual with 18 holes to play. Blanford recorded a 6-under 66 in Friday’s first round and has established a 36-holes record with his 10-under 134. Tulane’s Michael Thompson is just three shots behind Blanford in second place at 7-under 137. The previous 36-hole record was a 5-under 139 shot by South Alabama’s Ryan Gildersleeve last season.
LSU’s Andrew Lanahan shot a 1-under 71 to lead the Tigers on Saturday. Lanahan is tied for 24th place at 1-under 143. The Tigers have fiver golfers tied for 26th place at even-par 144, including junior Heath West, who shot a 1-over 73 in round two. Senior Garrett Prather shot a 2-under 70, while three Tigers individuals; Jason Horrell, David Pollet, and Greg Mason, are all at even par. Freshman Garrett Runion, competing as an individual, and junior Brandon Aydlett are tied for 34th place at 1-over 145. Both players shot a 1-under 71 Saturday. Junior Jeff Riemann shot a 3-over 175 and is tied for 43rd place at 2-over 146. Sophomore Aaron Smith, playing as an individual, is tied for 88th place at 17-over 161.
“We just need to get it clicking on all cylinders because right now we are not playing all that bad, we just are not making any putts despite the fact that we are hitting it well,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “Hopefully we will make some adjustments tomorrow,” said Jones.
The Tigers, the three-time defending champion of the event, enter the final round 12 shots off the lead. UNC-Charlotte is in third place at 9-under 567 while Jacksonville State is fourth at 5-under 571. LSU is paired with Jacksonville State and Louisiana-Lafayette for Sunday’s final round and will begin teeing off at 8:40 a.m. on Hole No. 1.
LSU will next head to the 2004 edition of the Southeastern Conference Championships April 16-18 in Sea Island, Ga.
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Furman 278-283 — 561 -15; 2. Middle Tennessee State 274-291 — 565 -11; 3. UNC-Charlotte 286-281 — 567 -9; 4. Jacksonville State 287-284 — 571 -5; 5. LSU 288-285 — 573 -3; t6. Louisiana-Lafayette 290-284 — 574 -2; t6. Central Florida 292-282 — 574 -1; 8. South Florida 293-282 — 575 -1; t9. Xavier 292-284 4– 576 E; t9. South Alabama 286-290 — 576 E; 11. Tulane 288-290 — 578 +2; t12. Arkansas-Little Rock 290-291 — 581 +5; t12. Memphis 292-289 — 581 +5; 14. Arkansas State 297-294 — 591 +15; 15. Southern Miss 302-291 — 593 +17; 16. Maryland 295-303 — 598 +22; 17. Mississippi State 305-296 — 601 +25
TOP 25 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. T.J. Blanford, Furman, 66-68 — 134 -10; 2. Michael Thompson, Tulane, 69-68 — 137 -7; t3. Matias Anselmo, Jacksonville State, 71-67 — 138 -6; t3. Josh Lampley, South Alabama, 67-71 — 138 -6; t3. Scott McNeil, UNC-Charlotte, 69-69 — 138 -6; t6. Barry Roof, Central Florida, 72-67 — 139 -5; t6. Charlie Gibson, Middle Tennessee State, 71-68 — 139 -5; t6. Matt Davidson, Furman, 69-70 — 139 -5; t6. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama, 68-71 — 139 -5; t6. Blake Bivens, Middle Tennessee State, 66-73 — 139 -5; t11. Nick Mackay, Jacksonville State, 67-73 — 140 -4; t11. Sonny Nimkhum, Central Florida, 71-69 — 140 -4; t13. Oscar Fraustro, Central Florida, 72-69 — 141 -3; t13. Matt Mincer, UNC-Charlotte, 71-70 — 141 -3; t13. Miles Maillet, Xavier, 70-71 — 141 -3; t13. Scott Crisco, Arkansas State, 70-71 — 141 -3; t13. Alan Weant, Memphis, 70-71 — 141 -3; t13. Luke Bakke, Arkansas-Little Rock, 69-72 — 141 -3; t13. Wixson Huffstetler, Arkansas State, 70-71 — 141 -3; t20. Craig Trahan, Louisiana-Lafayette, 71-71 — 142 -2; t20. Josh Nelms, Middle Tennessee State, 68-74 — 142 -2; t20. Brad Quiri, South Florida, 74-68 — 142 -2; t20. Jason Kokrak, Xavier, 74-68 — 142 -2
LSU SCORES
T24. Andrew Lanahan 72-71 — 142 -2
T26. Heath West 71-73 — 144 E
T26. Garrett Prather 74-70 — 144 E
T34. Brandon Aydlett 74-71 — 145 +1
T43. Jeff Riemann 71-75 — 146 +2
Individuals
T26. Jason Horrell 72-72 — 144 E
T26. David Pollet 70-74 — 144 E
T26. Greg Mason 68-76 — 144 E
T34. Garrett Runion 74-71 — 145 +1
T88. Aaron Smith 79-82 — 161 +17
TULANE SCORES
2. Michael Thompson 69-68 — 137 -7
T26. Chris Wheeler 70-74 — 144 E
T57. Bill Roach, Jr. 74-75 — 149 +5
T72. Mark Sullivan 79-73 — 152 +8
T82. Bill Gutknecht 75-79 — 154 +10
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE SCORES
T20. Craig Trahan 71-71 — 142 -2
T26. Brett Ashmore 69-75 — 144 E
T34. Tobias Winberg 75-70 — 145 +1
T43. Doron Mommsen 75-71 — 146 +2
T57. Steven Pena 77-72 — 149 +5