PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Senior Andrew Lanahan and junior Chris Wells each fired rounds of 1-under par 71 Monday to catapult the LSU men’s golf team into a tie for third place heading into Tuesday’s final round at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship at Sawgrass Country Club.
LSU was the only team to finish the day with two players under par on the round and posted the second lowest round of the tournament with a 2-over 290, an 18-stroke improvement from its first-round total of 20-over 308. The Tigers are tied with Georgia State with a two-round total of 22-over 598 and enter the final round four strokes off the pace.
“We got a reprieve in the weather today and were able to take advantage of that,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “It wasn’t at all like yesterday. It was cold starting the day, but the wind laid down and the course played more as it should relative to the wind. I was proud of our guys for playing the way they did and taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Lanahan posted his lowest round of the season thus far to move into a tie for 19th with a 7-over 151, while Wells improved five shots from his first-round total to move into a fifth-place tie with a 3-over 147. Sophomore Beck Troutman also improved five shots with an even-par 72 and is currently tied for 10th with a 5-over 149, while sophomore Brian Noonan enters the final round in a tie for 25th with an 8-over 152.
But it was sophomore Brent Struthers who showed the greatest improvement on the day by recording four birdies on his back nine to finish with a 4-over 76, a nine-stroke improvement from his first-round total of 13-over 85. Struthers finds himself sitting in a tie for 59th with a 17-over 161 for the tournament.
“Brent Struthers‘ play on the back nine today was very good for both him and our team,” Winstead said. “He made several birdies on his back nine to put up a good round for us, and we needed that. When teams have good rounds like we did today it’s because guys are able to get in a round in a way to help their team, even when they don’t have their ‘A’ game. Brent did that for us today.”
UCLA gave ground to the rest of the field after posting a 16-over 304 in the second round but still leads the tournament by two strokes over Texas Tech with an 18-over 594. There are currently four teams within six shots of the lead as Alabama follows LSU and Georgia State with a two-round total of 24-over 600.
Bruin freshman Erik Flores also fell back to the pack in the individual competition after carding a 4-over 76 to enter the final round tied with Oscar Floren of Texas Tech with an even-par 144. Kevin Chappell of UCLA and Andrew Dresser of Texas Tech are each two shots back in a tie for third with a 2-over 146.
With a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms expected in the area when players begin teeing off Tuesday, Winstead said he believes his team is prepared to overcome any challenge it may face in playing in such adverse conditions.
“Today was definitely the best weather we’ve seen since we’ve been here, but we anticipate that it is going to deteriorate tomorrow from what it was today,” Winstead said. “We are prepared for that. These guys are experienced players, and it is not the first time they will have played in that kind of weather. We just have to get our mind right, stay in the present, focus on each shot and hope that we put up a good score.”
MERCEDES-BENZ COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP — SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. UCLA 290-304 — 594 +18; 2. Texas Tech 301-295 — 596 +20; t.3. LSU 308-290 — 598 +22; t3. 304-294 — 598 +22; 5. Alabama 300-300 — 600 +24; 6. South Carolina 308-297 — 605 +29; 7. Florida 320-289 — 609 +33; 8. Auburn 313-299 — 612 +36; 9. North Florida 308-305 — 613 +37; t10. Tennessee 313-301 — 614 +38; t10. Missouri 312-302 — 614 +38; 12. Texas-Arlington 309-307 — 616 +40; 13. Coastal Carolina 319-300 — 619 +43; 14. UAB 318-308 — 626 +50; 15. Mercer 317-324 — 641 +65
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
t1. Oscar Floren, Texas Tech, 71-73 — 144 E; t1. Erik Flores, UCLA, 68-76 — 144 E; t3. Kevin Chappell, UCLA, 73-73 — 146 +2; t3. Andrew Dresser, Texas Tech, 71-75 — 146 +2; t5. Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina, 74-73 — 147 +3; t5. Steve Tiley, Georgia State, 75-72 — 147 +3; t5. Gator Todd, Alabama, 75-72 — 147 +3; t5. Chris Wells, LSU, 76-71 — 147 +3; 9. Florian Fritsch, South Carolina, 74-74 — 148 +4; t10. Beck Troutman, LSU, 77-72 — 149 +5; t10. Charles Ford, Tennessee, 78-71 — 149 149 +5; t10. Tim Freund, Georgia State, 76-73 — 149 +5; t10. Zack Reeves, Texas-Arlington, 75-74 — 149 +5; t10. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 78-71 — 149 +5
LSU SCORES
t5. Chris Wells 76-71 — 147 +3
t10. Beck Troutman 77-72 — 149 +5
t19. Andrew Lanahan 80-71 — 151 +7
t25. Brian Noonan 75-77 — 152 +8
t59. Brent Struthers 85-76 — 161 +17