PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Junior Brian Noonan made the turn at 1-under par and finished with three birdies on his round en route to a team-low 3-over par 75 in Tuesday’s final round to lead the LSU men’s golf team at the John Hayt Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club.
Noonan was the Tigers’ top finisher in the individual standings for the fourth time in five tournament appearances this season as he posted rounds of 77, 74 and 75 at the par-72 course to finish the championship in a tie for 25th place at 10-over 226. The Tigers posted a 54-hole total of 57-over par to finish 15th in the team competition.
The Austin, Texas, native earned a pair of top-10 finishes during the fall campaign as he just missed winning medalist honors in the season opener with a career best second-place finish at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate on Sept. 26 followed by a ninth-place showing at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate on Oct. 17.
Senior Chris Wells and junior Beck Troutman each carded matching 6-over 78s on Tuesday to finish the tournament in a tie for 39th place with a two-round total of 14-over 230, while true freshman Brent Blaum posted a 5-over 77 to tie for 63rd with a total of 19-over 235 and junior Garrett Runion finished the championship in 78th place in his first action in more than a year.
Fifth-ranked Alabama increased its lead in the team standings for the third straight round as it captured the team title by an impressive 10 strokes over runners-up Coastal Carolina and Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide fired the lowest team score in the final round with a 1-under 287 en route to a three-round total of 17-over 881.
The Crimson Tide were led by a pair of top-10 performances by junior standout Gator Todd and sophomore All-SEC standout Matthew Swan. Todd finished the championship in fourth place at 1-over 217 after firing a 3-under 69 on Tuesday, while Swan followed closely behind in a tie for sixth after posting rounds of 75, 75 and 71.
Kevin Chappell of UCLA started Tuesday’s action in a tie for third place in the individual standings but claimed medalist honors after carding four birdies and an eagle on his round to fire the second-lowest round of the day with a 3-under 69. Chappell claimed medalist honors by one stroke over Jon Curran of Vanderbilt with a 54-hole score of 2-under 214.
The Tigers break for two weeks before returning to the links in the Seminole Intercollegiate hosted by Florida State at Golden Eagle Country Club from March 4-6. They will then follow with their annual appearance in the prestigious Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga., on March 17-18.
JOHN HAYT INVITATIONAL ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Alabama 303-291-287 ? 881 +17; t2. Vanderbilt 304-295-292 ? 891 +27; t2. Coastal Carolina 309-289-293 ? 891 +27; t4. UAB 312-293-294 ? 899 +35; t4. Central Florida 315-284-300 ? 899 +35; t4. UCLA 309-297-293 ? 899 +35; t4. Georgia State 305-297-297 ? 899 +35; 8. North Florida 309-298-293 ? 900 +36; 9. Tennessee 313-302-294 ? 909 +45; 10. Pepperdine 311-309-290 ? 910 +46; 11. Charlotte 307-305-299 ? 911 +47; 12. South Carolina 311-311-291 ? 913 +49; t13. Notre Dame 311-314-295 ? 920 +56; t13. Augusta State 307-303-310 ? 920 +56; 15. LSU 310-303-308 ? 921 +57
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Kevin Chappell, UCLA, 72-73-69 ? 214 -2; 2. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt, 73-71-71 ? 215 -1; 3. Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina, 73-68-75 ? 216 E; 4. Gator Todd, Alabama, 75-73-69 ? 217 +1; 5. Greg Forest, Central Florida, 76-69-75 ? 220 +4; t6. Joel Sjoholm, Georgia State, 77-72-72 ? 221 +5; t6. Matthew Swan, Alabama, 75-75-71 ? 221 +5; t8. Mike Giammaresi, North Florida, 75-73-74 ? 222 +6; t8. Luke List, Vanderbilt, 75-71-76 ? 222 +6; t8. Colin Wilcox, Pepperdine, 77-74-71 ? 222 +6
LSU SCORES
t25. Brian Noonan 77-74-75 ? 226 +10
t39. Beck Troutman 77-75-78 ? 230 +14
t39. Chris Wells 79-73-78 ? 230 +14
t63. Brent Blaum 77-81-77 ? 235 +19
78. Garrett Runion 81-92-84 ? 257 +41