STATESBORO, Ga. — LSU senior Chris Wells continues to play with confidence as he posted rounds of 1-over 73 and 2-over 74 on Saturday to lead the Tigers into a tie for 10th place after two rounds of the 28th-annual Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club.
After opening the tournament with a team score of 12-over par 300 in the first round, the Tigers cut their total in half in the afternoon round with a 6-over 294 to finish the day in a tie for 10th place with the Michigan State Spartans in one of the strongest fields they have seen this year.
“We took a step forward as a team today,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “Even though we didn’t finish off either round the way we would have liked, we were closer today to really putting together a nice score. This is probably the best we’ve played this year, and we have an opportunity tomorrow to get back on the course and continue to improve.”
Wells, who carded a total of six birdies and an eagle on the day, is in a position to earn his second straight Top 10 finish as he is currently tied for 19th in the individual standings at 3-over 147. The Mobile, Ala., native posted his best finish in nearly two years after tying for third at the Seminole Intercollegiate two weeks ago.
Junior Beck Troutman and freshman Brent Blaum find themselves in a tie for 43rd place at 6-over 150 as the duo each carded rounds of 74 and 76 on the day. Sophomore Jarrod Barsamian is one stroke back at 7-over 151, while junior Brian Noonan finished the second round at 9-over 153. Noonan rebounded from an 81 in the opening round with a team-best round of even-par 72 in the afternoon.
The fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs have taken a commanding lead in the team standings after the first two rounds as they lead second-place South Carolina by an impressive 14 strokes with a two-team total of 12-under 564, including a tournament record 11-under 277 in the second round. The Gamecocks will carry a 36-hole score of 2-over 578 into Sunday’s final round.
Four Bulldogs finished the first day in the Top 10 of the leaderboard as they are led by tournament leader Chris Kirk, who fired rounds of 70 and 68 on Saturday for a two-round total of 6-under 138. Brendon Todd sits three strokes back in a tie for second place at 3-under 141, while Brian Harman is tied for fifth at 2-under 142 and Adam Mitchell is tied for eighth at 1-under 143.
Baker Elmore of South Carolina and Major Manning of Augusta State will challenge Kirk for medalist honors as they are also tied for second place in the individual standings at 3-under 141, while Southeastern Conference rivals Alabama (580) and Auburn (581), and Augusta State (585) round out the top five of the team standings.
The Tigers are scheduled to tee off from the back nine beginning at 8:30 a.m. CDT as they are paired with Michigan State and North Carolina in Sunday’s third and final round. Live scoring of tomorrow’s action can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Georgia 287-277 ? 564 -12; 2. South Carolina 295-283 ? 578 +2; 3. Alabama 292-288 ? 580 +4; 4. Auburn 289-293 ? 582 +6; 5. Augusta State 298-287 ? 585 +9; 6. Florida 290-297 ? 587 +11; 7. Arizona 306-284 ? 590 +14; 8. Texas A&M 298-293 ? 591 +15; 9. New Mexico 299-293 ? 592 +16; t10. LSU 300-294 ? 594 +18; t10. Michigan State 301-293 ? 594 +18; 12. North Carolina 302-293 ? 595 +19; 13. Minnesota 299-297 ? 596 +20; t14. Georgia Southern 302-297 ? 599 +23; t14. Tennessee 297-302 ? 599 +23; 16. Ohio State 298-302 ? 600 +24; 17. Kentucky 304-298 ? 602 +26; 18. NC State 311-297 ? 608 +32
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 70-68 ? 138 -6; t2. Baker Elmore, South Carolina, 72-69 ? 141 -3; t2. Major Manning, Augusta State, 74-67 ? 141 -3; t2. Brendon Todd, Georgia, 73-68 ? 141 -3; t5. Brian Harman, Georgia, 70-72 ? 142 -2; t5. Matt Harmon, Michigan State, 72-70 ? 142 -2; t5. Billy Horschel, Florida, 68-74 ? 142 -2; t8. Allen Koon, South Carolina, 73-70 ? 143 -1; t8. Adam Mitchell, Georgia, 74-69 ? 143 -1; t8. Pete Oriol, Arizona, 75-68 ? 143 -1
LSU SCORES
T19. Chris Wells 73-74 ? 147 +3
T43. Brent Blaum 74-76 ? 150 +6
T43. Beck Troutman 76-74 ? 150 +6
T54. Jarrod Barsamian 77-74 ? 151 +7
T70. Brian Noonan 81-72 ? 153 +9