PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The LSU men’s golf team fought through harsh conditions Monday to finish in fifth place after two rounds of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship at Sawgrass Country Club with a 19-over par 595.
Only five players posted rounds at par or better on the day, while only three of the 90 participants sit at par or better after two rounds of the tournament.
LSU head coach Greg Jones believes that windy conditions are to blame for many of the high scores.
“It was very windy and a very difficult golf course today,” Jones said. “There were a lot of crosswinds which we found uncomfortable. We really didn’t play poorly. We played alright and we’re still in the game.”
Sophomore Garrett Runion fired the lowest round of the day for the Tigers with a 3-over 75 and is currently in a tie for 31st with a 6-over 150. Fellow sophomore Chris Wells is in a tie for 10th with a 3-over 147 and looks to record his fourth top-10 finish of the season heading into the final round.
Senior Heath West and freshman Beck Troutman are two shots behind Wells in a tie for 19th with a 5-over 149, and senior Jeff Riemann is in a tie for 55th with a 10-over 154.
“Garrett was able to get through the course today without any major problems, and Chris hung in there today despite the tough conditions,” Jones said. “As a group they’re all playing pretty well. If we get a couple of things going our way and make a few putts we could come out of here with a good finish.”
Alabama leads the tournament by four strokes over UCLA and South Carolina with a 12-over par 588, including a 3-over 291 in the second round. Major Manning of Augusta State fired the lowest round of the tournament with a 3-under 69 to take the lead by one shot over Clint Provost of Alabama with a 2-under 142.
“We’ve just got to go put a good number up,” Jones said. “We’ve got to go play the course. Today the course played us a little bit. We have to attack it when we have a chance to attack and play conservative when it calls for it. If we hit our spots anything can happen.”
Final-round action starts Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. with the Tigers teeing off beginning at 8:15.
MERCEDES-BENZ COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP — DAY TWO
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Alabama 297-291 — 588 +12; t2. UCLA 292-300 — 592 +16; t2. South Carolina 286-306 — 592 +16; 4. Florida 292-302 — 594 + 18; 5. LSU 288-307 — 595 +19; t6. Augusta State 293-303 — 596 +20; t6. Tennessee 291-305 — 596 +20; t8. North Florida 301-300 — 601 +25; t8. Kentucky 293-308 — 601 +25; t8. Central Florida 301-300 — 601 +25; 11. Duke 294-310 — 604 +28; 12. UAB 299-309 — 608 +32; t13. Coastal Carolina 306-305 — 611 +35; t13. Georgia State 293-318 — 611 +35; 15. Arkansas 300-312 — 612 +36; 16. Florida State 322-305 — 627 +51; 17. Northwestern 308-320 — 628 +52
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Major Manning, Augusta State, 73-69 — 142 -2; 2. Clint Provost, Alabama, 72-71 — 143 -1; 3. Matt Every, Florida, 71-73 — 144 E; t4. Tyler Brown, North Florida, 74-71 — 145 +1; t4. Joakim Renstrom, UCLA, 71-74 — 145 +1; t4. Robert Svensson, South Carolina, 70-75 — 145 +1
LSU SCORES
t10. Chris Wells 70-77 — 147 +3
t19. Beck Troutman 72-77 — 149 +5
t19. Heath West 71-78 — 149 +5
t31. Garrett Runion 75-75 — 150 +6
t55. Jeff Riemann 76-78 — 154 +10