TAMPA, Fla. — Sophomore Beck Troutman finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual competition for the second-straight tournament to lead the LSU men’s golf team into a tie for fourth overall Tuesday in the Gary Koch Invitational at Old Memorial Golf Club.
Troutman fired a 2-under par 70 in the final round to finish play with a 5-under 211 in three rounds for his second top-10 finish of the season and third of his career. The Tigers posted a 1-over par 290 on Tuesday to finish tied for fourth with South Florida and Toledo with a total of 3-over 867.
“Today was by far their best round of the tournament,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “It may not have been their lowest round, but it was their best. We didn’t get off to a great start, but the guys rallied and competed all the way to the end and I’m proud of that.”
Along with Troutman, senior Andrew Lanahan finished in the top 20 for the second-straight tournament by tying for 20th with a 2-over 218. Junior Chris Wells posted a 4-over 220 for a 31st-place tie, while freshman Jarrod Barsamian tied for 39th with a 6-over 222 and sophomore Brian Noonan tied for 42nd with an 8-over 224.
Winstead said he is pleased with the way his team has progressed so far this season, but that he is particularly pleased with the progress Troutman has made in just his second season playing college golf.
“Beck is playing really well right now,” Winstead said. “He started off today a little slow but shot 4-under on his last nine holes to finish with a 70. He just competed well today and has done that so far this year. He didn’t play as well in this tournament as he did in the last one by his own admission, but his patience and maturity level have grown so much and it shows.”
Florida held off a late charge by Kentucky to capture the team title by three strokes with a 24-under 840. The Wildcats were unable to overcome an 11-stroke deficit despite firing a 9-under 279 in the final round. Kentucky’s Matt Kohn fired a 7-under 65 on Tuesday to win medalist honors with a three-round total of 9-under 207.
The Tigers have a quick turnaround as they travel to Jonesborough, Tenn., on Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges Golf and Country Club. Winstead said his team will take Wednesday off to recover before making the trip to Tennessee for the second time this season.
“One thing people might not realize is how much of a toll playing 36 holes in one day takes on a player,” Winstead said. “They guys did that yesterday and played for about 10 hours. The thing we’ve got to do with a quick turnaround is to take a day off and let our bodies recover. We’ll take a day off and then get after it again.”
GARY KOCH INVITATIONAL — FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Florida 277-276-287 — 840 -24; 2. Kentucky 286-278-279 — 843 -21; 3. Texas A&M 289-291-286 — 866 +2; t4. LSU 286-291-290 — 867 +3; t4. South Florida 292-283-292 — 867 +3; t4. Toledo 287-292-288 — 867 +3; 7. Georgia State 294-286-288 — 868 +4; 8. Florida State 289-293-288 — 870 +6; 9. Central Florida 291-293-291 — 875 +11; 10. North Florida 294-296-299 — 889 +25; 11. College of Charleston 301-287-304 — 892 +28; 12. Arkansas 297-298-301 — 896 +32
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Matt Kohn, Kentucky, 72-70-65 — 207 -9; t2. Matt Every, Florida, 70-70-69 — 209 -7; t2. Toby Ragland, Florida, 69-67-73 — 209 -7; t4. Daniel Woltman, Kentucky, 73-69-69 — 211 -5; t4. Beck Troutman, LSU, 70-71-70 — 211 -5; t4. Darren Baynes, Georgia State, 72-68-71 — 211 -5
LSU SCORES
t4. Beck Troutman 70-71-70 — 211 -5
t20. Andrew Lanahan 72-73-73 — 218 +2
t31. Chris Wells 75-73-72 — 220 +4
t39. Jarrod Barsamian 72-74-76 — 222 +6
t42. Brian Noonan 72-77-75 — 224 +8