GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Senior Andrew Lanahan finished 2-under par on his back nine Sunday to post a team best even-par 70 in the final round to lead the LSU men’s golf team to a fifth-place finish at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the University of Florida Golf Course.
The Tigers earned their best finish in the event since winning the team title in 2002, while Lanahan fired back-to-back 70s in the second and third rounds to earn the best individual finish of his career by tying for sixth place with a three-round total of 5-over 215.
“Just like (head coach) Chuck (Winstead) has been preaching all season long, I was able to play in the present and trust what I was doing out there,” Lanahan said. “It feels good to finally play like I know I’m capable. I just stayed focused and was able to get it done this week. It gives me some confidence heading into the rest of the spring.”
Lanahan made the turn at 2-over but immediately birdied holes 10 and 11 to move back to even-par. With a bogey on the 13th, he went into the 18th hole needing a birdie to finish his round at even-par. After pulling his tee shot into the left rough, Lanahan hit a punch draw around a group of trees to within 25 feet of the cup.
“My second shot on 18 was probably the best shot I hit all weekend,” Lanahan said. “I left myself in a difficult position with a poor tee shot, but I hit a really good second shot to give myself a chance. I just stepped up and hit a good putt to make a birdie.”
Junior Chris Wells followed a 70 in the second round with a 73 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 23rd with a three-round total of 10-over 220. Sophomore Beck Troutman, who has battled tendonitis in his left wrist for much of the past week, posted a 72 in the final round to finish 33rd with a 13-over 223. Sophomore Brent Struthers finished in a tie for 42nd with a 17-over 227, while sophomore Brian Noonan finished in a tie for 52nd with a 19-over 229.
“The guys just played hard all day today,” Winstead said. “The weather wasn’t all that great with it being cold and windy, but they battled through it to put up a good score. We didn’t play that well in the first round, but we rebounded to shoot a couple of pretty solid rounds in the last two.
“Everybody in the lineup played a part for us this weekend,” Winstead said. “Whether it was Brian Noonan or Brent Struthers carrying us in the first round or the older guys stepping up and posting good scores in the last two rounds, I’m proud of the way we competed against a very good field this weekend.”
Florida held on to win the team championship by six strokes over Tulsa with a 15-over 855, but it was Tulsa’s Sam Korbe who made up nine strokes on second-round leader Brett Stegmaier of Florida to claim medalist honors with an even-par 210. Korbe fired the lowest score of the final round with a 3-under 67 and defeated Stegmaier in a two-hole playoff.
The Tigers have a month off before returning to action in the Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga., March 18-19.
SUNTRUST GATOR INVITATIONAL — FINAL RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 274-288-293 — 855 +15; 2. Tulsa 287-286-288 — 861 +21; 3. Florida State 291-286-292 — 869 +29; 4. Georgia State 285-293-297 — 875 +35; 5. LSU 297-291-293 — 881 +41; 6. Wake Forest 297-294-296 — 887 +47; 7. UAB 292-298-298 — 888 +48; t8. South Carolina 287-308-295 — 890 +50; t8. Central Florida 302-294-294 — 890 +50; t8. Purdue 301-294-295 — 890 +50; 11. North Florida 301-298-293 — 892 +52; 12. Georgia Southern 289-311-295 — 895 +55; 13. Ohio State 289-307-303 — 899 +59; 14. Kentucky 301-307-297 — 905 +65
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Sam Korbe, Tulsa, 73-70-67 — 210 E; 2. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 65-69-76 — 210 E; 3. Mark Haastrup, Georgia State, 70-70-71 — 211 +1; 4. James Vargas, Florida, 71-73-68 — 212 +2; 5. Kyle Reifers, Wake Forest, 73-68-73 — 214 +4; t6. Andrew Lanahan, LSU, 75-70-70 — 215 +5; t6. Garrett Osborn, UAB, 72-74-69 — 215 +5; t6. Colin Biles, Ohio State, 73-70-72 — 215 +5; t6. Torstein Nevestad, Florida State, 72-71-72 — 215 +5; t6. Billy Horschel, Florida, 71-71-73 — 215 +5
LSU SCORES
t6. Andrew Lanahan 75-70-70 — 215 +5
t23. Chris Wells 77-70-73 — 220 +10
33. Beck Troutman 76-75-72 — 223 +13
t42. Brent Struthers 73-76-78 — 227 +17
t52. Brian Noonan 73-78-78 — 229 +19