ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team entered Sunday’s final round of the 2006 SEC Championships in a tie for sixth place and held on to its position after posting its best 54-hole score in the six years the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club has played host to the event.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in the tournament’s final round by posting a score of 7-over par through two holes but kept their composure to finish the final 16 holes at 5-over par for a 12-over 292 on the day and a 54-hole total of 28-over 868.
“This was a solid finish for this team in this championship,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “I’m especially proud of the way the guys kept their composure after a very difficult start today. We started the round 7-over after two holes and actually played hole No. 2 at 6-over as a team.
“We played well on the back nine collectively with Beck (Troutman) being our lowest at 2-under. I’m just proud of the fact that the guys never got down on themselves or doubted themselves in what they were trying to do on the golf course. They trusted in what they were doing and finished the tournament on a very positive note.”
Senior Andrew Lanahan entered the day in fourth place and led the way for the Tigers by finishing in a tie for 11th in his final appearance at the SEC Championships. Lanahan followed rounds of 1-under 69 and even-par 70 with a 3-over 73 on Sunday for a total of 2-over 212 — the best for any Tiger since the event has been at the Seaside Course.
Junior Chris Wells posted his lowest round of the tournament with a 1-over 71 in the final round to finish in a tie for 33rd at 8-over 218. Sophomores Beck Troutman and Brian Noonan finished in a tie for 38th after firing rounds of even-par 70 and 8-over 78, respectively. Troutman’s five birdies matched that of Noonan’s round of 2-under 68 on Saturday.
Georgia and Florida used ideal scoring conditions to fire matching rounds of 11-under 269 to separate themselves from the rest of the field in the race for the conference championship. The Bulldogs finished one shot ahead of the Gators with a score of 13-under 827, which is the lowest in the event since 1965. Alabama was 22 shots back in third place at 9-over 849.
Florida’s Brett Stegmaier and Georgia’s Kevin Kisner entered the 72nd hole tied for the individual lead at 5-under par, but Stegmaier claimed medalist honors with a par after Kisner carded a triple bogey on the par-four 18th hole. This is the second time that Stegmaier has won the individual competition in his career as he also accomplished this feat as a freshman in 2003.
First-round leader Brian Harman of Georgia finished one shot back in second place at 4-under 206 by firing a tournament low 4-under 66 in the final round. Kisner fell into a tie for fifth place at 2-under 208 following his triple bogey on the tournament’s final hole.
The Tigers find themselves in position to earn an at-large berth in an NCAA Regional following their strong performance at the SEC Championships. Regional play is scheduled to begin May 18 with the top 10 teams in each region earning a spot in the 2006 NCAA Championships at Crosswater Golf Club in Sunriver, Ore.
2006 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS — FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Georgia 276-282-269 — 827 -13; 2. Florida 285-274-269 — 828 -12; 3. Alabama 280-282-287 — 849 +9; 4. Kentucky 292-276-287 — 855 +15; 5. Auburn 289-285-283 — 857 +17; 6. LSU 288-288-292 — 868 +28; 7. Arkansas 295-288-286 — 869 +29; 8. South Carolina 292-295-285 — 872 +32; 9. Tennessee 286-290-299 — 875 +35; 10. Vanderbilt 290-296-291 — 877 +37; 11. Mississippi State 305-293-281 — 879 +39; 12. Ole Miss 290-301-295 — 886 +46
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 68-70-67 — 205 -5; 2. Brian Harman, Georgia, 67-73-66 — 206 -4; t3. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 68-72-67 — 207 -3; t3. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 68-67-72 — 207 -3; t5. Matt Every, Florida, 70-70-68 — 208 -2; t5. Kevin Kisner, Georgia, 69-69-70 — 208 -2; t7. Billy Horschel, Florida, 74-68-67 — 209 -1; t7. Richard Scott, Georgia, 72-71-66 — 209 -1; t7. James Vargas, Florida, 73-69-67 — 209 -1; 10. Stuart Moore, Auburn, 72-69-70 — 211 +1
LSU SCORES
t11. Andrew Lanahan 69-70-73 — 212 +2
t33. Chris Wells 72-75-71 — 218 +8
t38. Brian Noonan 74-68-78 — 220 +10
t38. Beck Troutman 75-75-70 — 220 +10
57. Brent Struthers 73-77-80 — 230 +20