GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Junior Beck Troutman fired the Tigers’ lowest round of the tournament on Sunday in leading the LSU men’s golf team to a 12th-place finish at the 30th-annual SunTrust Gator Invitational at the University of Florida Golf Course.
Troutman, who kicked off the spring season by posting rounds of 4-over 74 in the first round and a 3-over 73 in the second round on Saturday, carded four birdies on the day in firing an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish in a six-way tie for 22nd place with a three-round total of 7-over 217.
Troutman teamed with senior all-conference standout Chris Wells and fellow junior Brian Noonan to lead the Tigers to a cumulative team score of 44-over par for the championship. Both Wells and Noonan also finished in a tie for 22nd-place with Troutman after carding scores of 2-over 72 and 4-over 74 on Sunday, respectively.
“It was good to see Beck play a bit better today, and Brian and Chris had good starts to what’s going to be a busy spring schedule,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “We need better play from our fourth and fifth players to be competitive, and we need better iron play from our team as a whole. We’ll work hard this week and get right back into it next weekend.”
Top-ranked Florida entered the final round with a slim one-stroke advantage in the team standings but ran away with the team title after firing the lowest score of the day with a 1-over 281. The Gators pulled away from the pack to win by 11 strokes over runner-up Florida State with a three-round total of 10-over 850.
The 23rd-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons started the day just one stroke back in second place but could only muster a cumulative 14-over 294 in the final round to finish in third place at 22-over 862. Sixth-ranked Coastal Carolina took fourth place with a three-round total of 24-over 864, while Georgia Southern rounded out the top-five in fifth place at 26-over 866.
Florida junior Manuel Villegas continued his steady play on Sunday while breaking par for the third straight round to claim medalist honors by six shots. Villegas followed rounds of 3-under 67 and 2-under 68 on the first day with a 1-under 69 in the final round to fire a 6-under 204 for the championship. Bryan Jones of Georgia Southern finished second at even-par 210.
The Tigers waste no time in getting back on the course as they travel to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to compete in the John Hayt Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club on Feb. 18-19. Formerly known as the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, the John Hayt Invitational is one of the most prestigious collegiate tournaments of the spring season.
GATOR INVITATIONAL ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 280-289-281 ? 850 +10; 2. Florida State 284-287-290 ? 861 +21; 3. Wake Forest 280-288-294 ? 862 +22; 4. Coastal Carolina 290-284-290 ? 864 +24; 5. Georgia Southern 287-284-297 ? 866 +26; 6. UAB 287-289-293 ? 869 +29; t7. Tulsa 290-294-287 ? 871 +31; t7. Georgia State 292-286-293 ? 871 +31; 9. North Florida 293-292-287 ? 872 +32; 10. Kentucky 295-293-293 ? 881 +41; 11. Ohio State 283-300-299 ? 882 +42; 12. LSU 296-295-293 ? 884 +44; 13. Central Florida 297-297-293 ? 887 +47; 14. Purdue 299-303-304 ? 906 +66
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Manuel Villegas, Florida, 67-68-69 ? 204 -6; 2. Bryan Jones, Georgia Southern, 71-68-71 ? 210 E; 3. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 70-70-71 ? 211 +1; t4. Tyler Brown, Florida, 69-71-72 ? 212 +2; t4. Matthew Savage, Florida State, 72-75-65 ? 212 +2; t4. Will Strickler, Florida, 68-72-72 ? 212 +2; t7. Jonas Blixt, Florida State, 70-67-76 ? 213 +3; t7. Zack Byrd, Coastal Carolina, 71-67-75 ? 213 +3; t7. Billy Horschel, Florida, 71-74-68 ? 213 +3; t7. Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina, 70-74-69 ? 213 +3; t7. Michael O’Neal, North Florida, 69-71-73 ? 213 +3
LSU SCORES
T22. Brian Noonan 72-71-74 ? 217 +7
T22. Beck Troutman 74-73-70 ? 217 +7
T22. Chris Wells 73-72-72 ? 217 +7
67. Jarrod Barsamian 77-79-77 ? 233 +23
70. Bryant Lach 79-79-80 ? 238 +28