TAMPA, Fla. — Senior Heath West fired an opening-round 1-under 71 to pace the LSU men’s golf team to a seventh-place tie after the first round of the Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Invitational at Old Memorial Golf Club.
Second-round action was suspended due to rain after the Tigers shot a 16-over 304 in the opening round.
“It rained for about five straight hours, and it was just tough on the whole field,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “Once you get water on the ball, it can really go anywhere.”
West was the only Tiger to shoot under par and is currently in a tie for fourth place. Sophomore Garrett Runion shot a 4-over 76 to sit in a tie for 26th, while fellow sophomore Chris Wells is in a tie for 35th with a 5-over 77. Freshmen Brent Struthers and Beck Troutman are in a tie for 64th and 69th, respectively.
“Heath shot a nice round for us under those conditions,” said Jones. “The younger guys struggled a little bit, but they’re going to play better tomorrow.”
Central Florida leads the tournament by three strokes over South Carolina after shooting a 5-over 293, and the Golden Knights’ Stefan Wistorf leads the tournament by two strokes after firing a 4-under 68.
Final-round action will begin immediately after the conclusion of the second round tomorrow morning.
GARY KOCH/CLEVELAND GOLF INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Central Florida 293 +5; 2. South Carolina 296 +8; 3. Kentucky 297 +9; 4. Georgia State 300 +12; t5. North Florida 302 +14; t5. Ole Miss 302 +14; t7. Tennessee 304 +16; t7. LSU 304 +16; t9. Toledo 307 +19; t9. Arkansas 307 +19; 11. College of Charleston 308 +20; 12. Ohio State 309 +21; 13. Florida 310 +22; t14. South Florida 313 +25; t14. Florida State 313 +25
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Stefan Wistorf, Central Florida, 37-31 — 68 -4; t2. Mark Blakefield, Kentucky, 36-34 — 70 -2; t2. Darren Maynes, Georgia State, 34-36 — 70 -2; t4. Heath West, LSU, 35-36 — 71 -1; t4. Giwon Suh, Central Florida, 35-36 — 71 -1
LSU SCORES
T4. Heath West 35-36 — 71 -1
T26. Garrett Runion 37-39 — 76 +4
T35. Chris Wells 40-37 — 77 +5
T64. Brent Struthers 40-40 — 80 +8
T69. Beck Troutman 44-37 — 81 +9