GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Heath West fired a one-over par 71 in the final round Sunday to tie for second place at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the University of Florida Golf Course. The senior finished just two strokes behind the leader with a one-over 211 for the championship.
West paced LSU to an eighth place team finish in the 15-team field as the Tigers shot a 39-over 879 for the tournament.
“We had two guys go high today, which hurt us a little bit in what we wanted to do,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “We just have to take the big numbers off the board in order to finish a tournament like we want.”
Sophomore Chris Wells recorded his fourth top-20 finish of the season by tying for 14th place with a seven-over 217. Freshman Beck Troutman shot an 18-over 228 to tie for 53rd, while sophomore Garrett Runion and junior Aaron Smith tied for 59th and 69th, respectively.
“Heath played really well in the tournament, and Chris played well too,” Jones said. “It was a pretty solid event for those two guys. We’ve just got to teach some of the guys how to consistently get around the golf course.”
Tournament host Florida claimed the team title by firing an even-par 280 in the final round to finish eight strokes ahead of Wake Forest with an 18-over 858. Jonas Blixt of Florida State won medalist honors as he was the only player under par with a one-under 209, including a two-under 68 in the final round.
The Tigers will return to the state of Florida for their next tournament to compete in the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra from Feb. 20-22.
GATOR INVITATIONAL — DAY TWO
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 287-291-280 — 858 +18; 2. Wake Forest 286-291-289 — 866 +26; 3. Florida State 291-292-285 — 868 +28; 4. South Carolina 292-288-289 — 869 +29; 5. Central Florida 283-301-292 — 876 +36; 6. Georgia State 296-290-291 — 877 +37; 7. UAB 290-288-300 — 878 +38; 8. LSU 293-290-296 — 879 +39; 9. Georgia Southern 290-298-293 — 881 +41; 10. Purdue 295-302-285 — 882 +42; 11. Tennessee 290-301-295 — 886 +46; 12. Ohio State 303-301-296 — 900 +60; 13. North Florida 303-307-296 — 906 +66; 14. Kentucky 294-310-304 — 908 +68; 15. College of Charleston 302-299-309 — 910 +70
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Jonas Blixt, Florida State, 71-70-68 — 209 -1; t2. Erik Johansen, South Carolina, 70-71-70 — 211 +1; t2. Heath West, LSU, 69-71-71 — 211 +1; t2. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 72-68-71 — 211 +1; t5. Ryan Thomas, UAB, 71-70-71 — 212 +2; t5. Song Jeon, Florida State, 71-72-69 — 212 +2; t5. Mark Anderson, South Carolina, 69-72-71 — 212 +2
LSU SCORES
t2. Heath West 69-71-71 — 211 +1
t14. Chris Wells 74-71-72 — 217 +7
t53. Beck Troutman 81-74-73 — 228 +18
t59. Garrett Runion 71-76-82 — 229 +19
t69. Aaron Smith 79-74-80 — 233 +23