STATESBORO, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team received a final-round score of 1-over par 73 from senior standout Chris Wells on Sunday to finish in 13th place at the prestigious 28th-annual Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club.
After teeing off from the back nine to start their round, the Tigers posted a team score of 15-over 303 in the final round to finish the weekend with a 54-hole team total of 33-over 897 against perhaps the strongest field they have seen this season at the par-72 course.
Wells was the team’s top finisher for the second consecutive tournament as he played another steady round for the Tigers with a birdie on No. 14 and a pair of bogeys coming in to finish the weekend with scores of 73, 74 and 73 to tie for 21st place at 4-over 220. Junior Brian Noonan carded the team’s second best round of the day with a 3-over 75 to finish the championship at 12-over 228.
Freshman Brent Blaum finished his round strong with birdies on two of his last three holes to post a 5-over 77 in the final round and a 54-hole score of 11-over 227 to tie for 54th. Sophomore Jarrod Barsamian and junior Beck Troutman posted rounds of 78 and 79 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 65th with matching scores of 13-over 229.
After entering the final round with a 14-stroke lead on the rest of the field, fifth-ranked Georgia held on to win the team championship by six shots over Southeastern Conference rival and second-ranked Alabama with a 54-hole total of 10-under 854, including a 2-over 290 on Sunday.
The Crimson Tide closed the gap with the second-lowest team score of the tournament at 8-under 280 to post a team total of 4-under 860 in three rounds, while Auburn took third place in the event with a 4-over 868. South Carolina finished fourth at 10-over 874 and Florida placed fifth at 17-over 881 in what could be a preview of next month’s SEC Men’s Golf Championships.
A pair of Georgia senior All-Americans finished 1-2 in the individual standings to lead the Bulldogs on the weekend as Chris Kirk won his third tournament title of the season by two shots over teammate Brendon Todd with a 6-under 210 for the championship. Kirk posted a steady round of even-par 72 in the final round after opening with rounds of 70 and 68 on Saturday.
Alabama junior Michael Thompson posted his best finish of the season as he took third place with a three-round total of 3-under 213, including a 3-under 69 in the final round, while Georgia’s Adam Mitchell finished two strokes back in a tie for fourth at 1-under 215 to give the Bulldogs three of the top six finishers for the weekend.
The Tigers return to the course next weekend as they travel to Awendaw, S.C. to compete in the third-annual Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay Golf Club beginning March 25. They will then make their annual trip to St. Simons Island, Ga., to compete in the 2007 SEC Championships at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club from April 20-22.
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Georgia 287-277-290 ? 854 -10; 2. Alabama 292-288-280 ? 860 -4; 3. Auburn 289-293-286 ? 868 +4; 4. South Carolina 295-283-296 ? 874 +10; 5. Florida 290-297-294 ? 881 +17; 6. Texas A&M 298-293-295 ? 886 +22; 7. Georgia Southern 302-297-288 ? 887 +23; 8. Augusta State 298-287-303 ? 888 +24; 9. New Mexico 299-293-297 ? 889 +25; 10. Tennessee 297-302-291 ? 890 +26; 11. Arizona 306-284-301 ? 891 +27; 12. North Carolina 302-293-301 ? 896 +32; 13. LSU 300-294-303 ? 897 +33; 14. Michigan State 301-293-304 ? 898 +34; 15. Ohio State 298-302-303 ? 903 +39; 16. Kentucky 304-298-305 ? 907 +43; 17. Minnesota 299-297-314 ? 910 +46; 18. NC State 311-297-303 ? 911 +47
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Chris Kirk, Georgia, 70-68-72 ? 210 -6; 2. Brendon Todd, Georgia, 73-68-71 ? 212 -4; 3. Michael Thompson, Alabama, 71-73-69 ? 213 -3; t4. Adam Mitchell, Georgia, 74-69-72 ? 215 -1; t4. Baker Elmore, South Carolina, 72-69-74 ? 215 -1; t4. Matt Harmon, Michigan State, 72-70-73 ? 215 -1; t7. Bronson Burgoon, Texas A&M, 72-72-72 ? 216 E; t7. Bryan Jones, Georgia Southern, 75-75-66 ? 216 E; t7. Major Manning, Augusta State, 74-67-75 ? 216 E; t7. Jamie Bowen, Auburn, 70-74-72 ? 216 E
LSU SCORES
T21. Chris Wells 73-74-73 ? 220 +4
T54. Brent Blaum 74-76-77 ? 227 +11
T58. Brian Noonan 81-72-75 ? 228 +12
T65. Jarrod Barsamian 77-74-78 ? 229 +13
T65. Beck Troutman 76-74-79 ? 229 +13