ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Senior Andrew Lanahan carded three birdies on his round en route to firing a 1-under par 69 Friday to lead the LSU men’s golf team in the opening round of the 2006 SEC Championships at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.
The Tigers finished the first day of the event in sole possession of fifth place with a team score of 8-over 288, their best round since posting a 2-over 282 in the tournament’s final round in 2004.
“For our team, I feel that we got off to a good start,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “Today’s round was played in ideal conditions, not like the kind of wind that is typical for this golf course. It benefited us today, but I look for the wind to pick up tomorrow.”
Lanahan is currently in a tie for sixth place with three other golfers and credits his ability to put the ball in the fairway off the tee and manage the speed of the greens for his career low round at the Seaside Course. He finished the day by hitting 13-of-14 fairways and a team-low 30 putts on the course’s fast greens.
“I hit the ball really well today, as good as I have in a while,” Lanahan said. “It was all about just being able to put the ball in the fairway and get it in the hole once I got on the green. I was also able to get up and down when I did miss a green. I’m really pleased with how I played today.”
Junior Chris Wells finished three shots behind Lanahan after carding a 2-over 72 for a 19th- place tie, a round that included an even-par 35 on the front nine. Sophomore Brent Struthers is in a tie for 31st after posting his lowest round of the spring with a 3-over 73, while fellow sophomores Brian Noonan and Beck Troutman are in a tie for 39th and tie for 42nd, respectively.
“Our guys drove the ball a little better today than they have in the last couple of tournaments, and our work on the greens showed today with improved putting,” Winstead said. “That’s what you have to do to be successful on this golf course — hit a lot of fairways and manage the speed of these greens.”
Georgia finished the day atop the leaderboard with a 4-under 276 and currently leads the championship by four strokes over Alabama. Freshman Brian Harman of Georgia has grabbed an early one-stroke lead in the race for medalist honors after firing a 3-under 67 with four golfers sitting one stroke back in a tie for second place at 2-under 68.
The Tigers are paired with Auburn and Tennessee in Saturday’s second round and will tee off from the first tee beginning at 7 a.m. CDT. Tournament officials have decided to split the tee times with half the field starting on the back nine as thunderstorms are expected in the area during the afternoon.
SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS — FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 280)
1. Georgia 276 -4; 2. Alabama 280 E; 3. Florida 285 +5; 4. Tennessee 286 +6; 5. LSU 288 +8; 6. Auburn 289 +9; t7. Ole Miss 290 +10; t7. Vanderbilt 290 +10; t9. South Carolina 292 +12; t9. Kentucky 292 +12; 11. Arkansas 295 +15; 12. Mississippi State 305 +25
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 70)
1. Brian Harman, Georgia, 67 -3; t2. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 68 -2; t2. Luke List, Vanderbilt, 68 -2; t2. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 68 -2; t2. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 68 -2; t6. Kevin Kisner, Georgia, 69 -1; t6. Andrew Lanahan, LSU, 69 -1; t6. Tino Weiss, Tennessee, 69 -1; t9. Kyle Ellis, Ole Miss, 70 E; t9. Matt Every, Florida, 70 E; t9. Joseph Sykora, Alabama, 70 E; t9. Tyler Wilson, Kentucky, 70 E
LSU SCORES
t6. Andrew Lanahan 69 -1
t19. Chris Wells 72 +2
t31. Brent Struthers 73 +3
t39. Brian Noonan 74 +4
t42. Beck Troutman 75 +5