PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Juniors Brian Noonan and Beck Troutman joined freshman Brent Blaum in leading the LSU men’s golf team on the first day of the John Hayt Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club as each carded matching rounds of 5-over par 77 on Sunday.
The trio joins 10 other competitors in a tie for 23rd place following the first round, while the Tigers are currently in sole possession of ninth place overall in a difficult 14-team field after posting a team score of 22-over 310 on a cold and windy Sunday morning.
Senior Chris Wells follows closely behind the Tigers’ top three performers as the Mobile, Ala., native finished his round strong by playing his final five holes at 1-under par to finish the day in a tie for 46th place with a 7-over 79. Junior Garrett Runion carded a 9-over 81 in his first collegiate action in more than a year.
“The conditions were challenging for everyone today with it being cold and very windy,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “The guys were sloppy at times today on the greens, but it can be tough on quick greens when it is this windy. We’re all looking forward to the challenge we will see when we tee off tomorrow.”
The fifth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide battled the elements to fire the lowest team round of the day with a 15-over 303 to lead Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt by one stroke following the first round. The Commodores are currently in sole possession of second place after posting a 16-over 304 on Sunday.
All-American Kevin Chappell of UCLA and Shane Mason of Pepperdine were the only competitors to fire even-par rounds as they are locked in a tie for the top spot in the race for medalist honors after firing matching rounds of 72. Chappell put himself in a position to battle for top honors by closing out his round with birdie on four of his last five holes on the back nine.
The Tigers are paired with 25th-ranked Charlotte and UAB in Monday’s second round and is slated to begin the day from hole No. 1 with tee times beginning at 8:15 a.m. CST. Live scoring of the tournament’s second round is provided by Golfstat and can be found at www.golfstat.com.
“We’re expecting to see more of the same when we tee off tomorrow,” Winstead said. “I don’t think the wind is supposed to blow as hard as it did today, but temperatures will still be in the 30s. They’ve actually pushed back tee times because of an expected frost delay in the morning, so we’re going to have to come out focused and ready to compete like we did today.”
JOHN HAYT INVITATIONAL ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 288)
1. Alabama 303 +15; 2. Vanderbilt 304 +16; 3. Georgia State 305 +17; t4. Charlotte 307 +19; t4. Augusta State 307 +19; t6. North Florida 309 +21; t6. UCLA 309 +21; t6. Coastal Carolina 309 +21; 9. LSU 310 +22; t10. Notre Dame 311 +23; t10. South Carolina 311 +23; t10. Pepperdine 311 +23; 13. UAB 312 +24; 14. Tennessee 313 +25; 15. Central Florida 315 +27
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 72)
t1. Kevin Chappell, UCLA, 72 E; t1. Shane Mason, Pepperdine, 72 E; t3. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt, 73 +1; t3. Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina, 73 +1; t5. George Bryan IV, South Carolina, 75 +3; t5. Andrew DiBitetto, Charlotte, 75 +3; t5. Mike Giammaresi, North Florida, 75 +3; t5. Jordan Gibb, North Florida, 75 +3; t5. Mark Haastrup, Georgia State, 75 +3; t5. Mark Harrell, Alabama, 75 +3; t5. Luke List, Vanderbilt, 75 +3; t5. Jamie Miller, Augusta State, 75 +3; t5. Brad Smith, UAB, 75 +3; t5. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 75 +3; t5. Gator Todd, Alabama, 75 +3
LSU SCORES
t23. Brent Blaum 77 +5
t23. Brian Noonan 77 +5
t23. Beck Troutman 77 +5
t46. Chris Wells 79 +7
t58. Garrett Runion 81 +9