EDMOND, Okla. — Senior Chris Wells finds himself in a tie for second place after firing a 1-over-par 72 on Sunday, while the LSU men’s golf team is in third place in the team standings after the first round of the inaugural Oklahoma Intercollegiate at Oak Tree Golf Club.
Wells has carried the momentum from a sixth-place finish at the prestigious Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate last week as he is currently in a tie for second place on the strength of a 3-under 32 on his back nine. The Tigers are just two shots out of the lead as they posted a team total of 22-over 306 in the first round.
Junior Brian Noonan carded a 6-over 77 on Sunday to finish the day in a tie for 14th place, while freshman Brent Blaum is one shot back in a tie for 18th at 7-over 78 and junior Beck Troutman is currently tied for 21st at 8-over 79. Freshman Bryant Lach is currently in 44th place after the first competitive round of his LSU career.
“We played pretty well considering the difficult conditions on the golf course,” said. LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “Chris birdied his last three holes and finished with a solid round, and the rest of the guys hung in there and competed until the very last hole. We were 22-over on our round but only 5-over on the back nine. That says a lot about the way the guys competed.”
Oak Tree Golf Club is considered one of the more difficult golf courses in the country, and this was the first ever round played from the course’s lengthened tees of 7,417 yards with an average score of 78.9 on the day. Winstead said that the rain and high winds only magnified the difficulty of the golf course on Sunday.
“It literally rained sideways most of the day and the wind was between 10 and 20 mph for the entire round,” Winstead said. “These are certainly difficult conditions to deal with when playing a course like Oak Tree, but you just have to get acclimated and play through it. The guys did a great job of that out there today.”
Ohio State carries a one-stroke lead over Tulsa into Monday’s action after posting a team total of 20-over 304 in the first round, and the Buckeyes lead the way with three players among the Top 10 of the individual standings. Andrew Landry of Arkansas leads the race for medalist honors as he was the only participant to finish the day with an even-par 71.
The Tigers are paired with Ohio State and Tulsa in Monday’s second round and are set to tee off from the front nine beginning at 10:50 a.m. CDT. Winstead said that his team can expect more of the same with regards to the weather and needs to show the same competitive spirit if it hopes to stay in contention for the championship.
“The scores are not that far apart from first place to last place, and we need to tee it up tomorrow the same way that we did today,” Winstead said. “It’s going to be another difficult day with more rain in the forecast tonight and tomorrow, but we’ve just got to fight through it and stay focused with each shot.”
OKLAHOMA INTERCOLLEGIATE ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 284)
1. Ohio State 304 +20; 2. Tulsa 305 +21; 3. LSU 306 +22; 4. Arkansas 310 +26; 5. Oklahoma 313 +29; 6. Michigan 315 +31; t7. SMU 316 +32; t7. Baylor 316 +32
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 71)
1. Andrew Landry, Arkansas, 71 E; t2. Chris Wells, LSU, 72 +1; t2. Sam Korbe, Tulsa, 72 +1; 4. Jesse Schutte, Oklahoma, 73 +2; t5. Tim Schaetzel, Michigan, 75 +4; t5. Colin Biles, Ohio State, 75 +4; t5. Dan Rush, Ohio State, 75 +4; t5. Wesley Williams, Baylor, 75 +4; t9. Jack Tyler, Ohio State, 76 +5; t9. Bill Allcorn, Baylor, 76 +5; t9. Billy McKay, Michigan, 76 +5; t9. Colton Williams, Baylor, 76 +5; t9. Ben Blundell, Oklahoma, 76 +5
LSU SCORES
t2. Chris Wells 72 +1
t14. Brian Noonan 77 +6
t18. Brent Blaum 78 +7
t21. Beck Troutman 79 +8
44. Bryant Lach 85 +14