JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a final-round 5-over 293 Sunday to finish in sixth place at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges Golf and Country Club. The Tigers finished 19 strokes out of first place by shooting a 9-over 873 for the tournament.
“There is only one reason to play in a tournament and that is to finish first,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “It was a good, strong field, and we’ve got a good team. I was pleased with how we played overall.”
Senior Heath West recorded the 10th top-10 finish of his career by shooting a 1-under 215 for ninth place. Sophomore transfer Chris Wells tied for 10th in his first tournament as a Tiger with an even-par 216, including a final-round 1-under 70.
“Heath is a special player, and he played solid the whole tournament,” said Jones. “It was Chris’s first tournament playing at LSU, and his performance shows that he will be able to contribute and give the other guys some confidence in him.”
Sophomore Garrett Runion finished in the top 25 by tying for 25th with a 3-over 219. Seniors Brandon Aydlett and Jeff Riemann finished tied for 42nd and tied for 72nd respectively.
Tennessee, which finished 11th in this event last season, won the tournament by three shots over TCU by firing a 10-under 854. Defending NCAA East Regional champion Clemson finished third with a 3-under 861. Philip Pettitt of Tennessee was the low individual with an 8-under 208, including a tournament-best 5-under 67 in the final round.
The Tigers will take a week off before playing in their second tournament, the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate, Sept. 27-28 at the Golf Club of Tennessee in Nashville.
BANK OF TENNESSEE INTERCOLLEGIATE
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Tennessee 282-292-280 — 854 -10; 2. TCU 286-288-283 — 857 -7; 3. Clemson 286-288-287 — 861 -3; 4. Oklahoma 290-282-293 — 870 +6; 5. Wake Forest 293-285-293 — 871 +7; 6. LSU 298-282-293 — 873 +9; t.7 South Carolina 301-287-291 — 879 +15; t.7 Alabama 288-298-293 — 879 +15; 9. Virginia 290-293-297 — 880 +16; t.10 North Carolina 295-294-294 — 883 +19; t.10 Duke 294-296-293 — 883 +19; 12. Kansas 301-290-293 — 884 +20; t.13 Virginia Tech 291-299-295 — 885 +21; t.13 East Tennessee State 297-296-292 — 885 +21; 15. Florida State 304-286-301 — 891 +27
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Philip Pettitt, Tennessee, 69-72-67 — 208 -8; 2. Anthony Kim, Oklahoma, 68-68-74 — 210 -6; t.3 Brian Duncan, Clemson, 68-69-74 — 211 -5; t.3 Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 68-70-73 — 211 -5; 5. Nathan Smith, Duke, 70-74-68 — 212 -4
LSU SCORES
9. Heath West 72-71-72 — 215 -1
T10. Chris Wells 77-68-71 — 216 E
T25. Garrett Runion 74-70-75 — 219 +3
T42. Brandon Aydlett 75-73-75 — 223 +7
T72. Jeff Riemann 80-73-78 — 231 +15