GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Junior Brian Noonan quickly shook off the rust from a four-month break and fired scores of 2-over 72 in the first round and 1-over 71 in the second to lead the LSU men’s golf team on the first day of the Gator Invitational at the University of Florida Golf Course.
Noonan, who leads the team with an impressive 72.1 stroke average on the season, finds himself in a position to earn his third top-10 finish of the year as he is in a five-way tie for 20th place with a two-round total of 3-over 143. The Tigers find themselves in the 12th spot in the team standings as they are a combined 31-over for the championship.
Senior all-conference standout Chris Wells follows closely behind Noonan as the Mobile, Ala., native posted rounds of 3-over 73 and 2-over 72 to finish the first day of the tournament in a tie for 29th. Junior Beck Troutman currently sits in a tie for 42nd at 7-over 147, while sophomore Jarrod Barsamian is in a tie for 66th and freshman Bryant Lach is in 71st.
“I’m proud of the way the guys came out today after a long break and competed,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “They showed a lot of fight and competed with great effort, but we were just one score short in both rounds in the end. We’ll get another opportunity to go out and compete again tomorrow and try to improve as a team.”
Winstead said he was particularly pleased with the play of Troutman, who struggled a bit in the fall season after participating in the match play competition at the United State Amateur Championship in August. The second-year head coach said that his team must rely on players like Troutman if it hopes to find success this spring.
“I was pleased with the guys from an individual standpoint, but particularly Beck Troutman,” Winstead said. “He played more like himself today than he has at any point this season as he struggled a bit in the fall. It was good to see him play well today, and he’ll be a key component in the success of this team as we move forward.”
The 23rd-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons outlasted the tournament host and top-ranked Florida Gators on the first day of the event as they take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round. Wake Forest fired a two-round team total of 8-over par 568, while Florida follows closely behind in second place at 9-over 569.
Florida standout Manuel Villegas holds a slim lead in the race for medalist honors heading into Sunday’s action as the junior posted back-to-back under-par rounds of 67 and 68 to lead Jonas Blixt of Florida State by two strokes at 5-under 135.
The Tigers are paired with Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky and North Florida in the final round as they are set to begin play on the back nine with tee times beginning at 8:12 a.m. CST. Live scoring of the final round of the Gator Invitational will be provided by Golfstat and can be found at the organization’s official website, www.golfstat.com.
GATOR INVITATIONAL ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 560)
1. Wake Forest 280-288 ? 568 +8; 2. Florida 280-289 ? 569 +9; 3. Georgia Southern 286-284 ? 570 +10; 4. Florida State 284-287 ? 571 +11; 5. Coastal Carolina 290-284 ? 574 +14; 6. UAB 287-289 ? 576 +16; 7. Georgia State 292-286 ? 578 +18; 8. Tulsa 290-290 ? 580 +20; 9. Ohio State 283-300 ? 583 +23; 10. North Florida 293-292 ? 585 +25; 11. Kentucky 295-293 ? 588 +28; 12. LSU 296-295 ? 591 +31; 13. Central Florida 297-297 ? 594 +34; 14. Purdue 299-303 ? 602 +42
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 140)
1. Manuel Villegas, Florida, 67-68 ? 135 -5; 2. Jonas Blixt, Florida State, 70-67 ? 137 -3; t3. Zack Byrd, Coastal Carolina, 71-67 ? 138 -2; t3. Bryan Jones, Georgia Southern, 70-68 ? 138 -2; 5. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest, 71-68 ? 139 -1; t6. Tyler Brown, Florida, 69-71 ? 140 E; t6. Michael O’Neal, North Florida, 69-71 ? 140 E; t6. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 70-70 ? 140 E; t6. Will Strickler, Florida, 68-72 ? 140 E; 10. Brett Myers, Tulsa, 71-70 ? 141 +1
LSU SCORES
T20. Brian Noonan 72-71 ? 143 +3
T29. Chris Wells 73-72 ? 145 +5
T42. Beck Troutman 74-73 ? 147 +7
T66. Jarrod Barsamian 77-79 ? 156 +16
71. Bryant Lach 79-79 ? 158 +18