AWENDAW, S.C. — The LSU men’s golf team used an even-par round of 71 from senior standout Chris Wells in the final round Tuesday to finish in 10th place at the third-annual Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay Golf Club.
The Tigers posted a team total of 10-over par 294 on Tuesday to finish the championship with a 54-hole total of 18-over 870, while Wells was the team’s top finisher for the third consecutive tournament after tying for 17th place in the individual standings at even-par 213.
Wells, who earned his team-leading fourth top-20 finish of the season, finished his round strong with a pair of birdies coming in on the par-three 14th and par-three 17th holes to finish the back nine with a 2-under 33. The Mobile, Ala., native is now a cumulative 1-over par on his last nine competitive rounds to lead the squad.
Freshman Brent Blaum, who carded his lowest score as an LSU Tiger on Monday with a 1-under 70, finished the championship in a tie for 36th place at 6-over 219, while junior Brian Noonan and freshman Bryant Lach each posted 54-hole scores of 8-over 221 to tie for 47th. Junior Beck Troutman tied for 74th place at 20-over 233.
The 24th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons successfully defended their team title from a year ago as they fired an 18-hole score of 6-under 280 on Tuesday to finish the afternoon tied atop the leader board with the Baylor Bears at 12-under 840 for the championship.
Wake Forest defeated Baylor in a one-hole playoff to capture the team title after entering the final round four strokes back of second-round leader Central Florida. Baylor finished runner-up with a matching three-round total of 12-under 840, including an impressive round of 7-under 277 on Tuesday. Florida State (845) took third place followed by Central Florida (846) in fourth.
Augusta State standout Wallace Booth was seemingly out of contention for medalist honors as he trailed second-round leader Greg Forest of Central Florida by seven shots heading into Tuesday’s action after carding a 36-hole score of 2-under 140 on the first two days of the competition.
But the senior from Perthshire, Scotland, fired a tournament-low round of 6-under 65 that included five birdies and an eagle to win his first career individual title with a three-round total of 8-under 205. Forest posted a 2-over 73 in the final round to finish the tournament in a tie for second place with Webb Simpson of Wake Forest at 7-under 206.
The Tigers will break for one month before returning to the links as they make their annual trip to St. Simons Island, Ga., to compete in the 2007 SEC Men’s Golf Championships from April 20-22 at Sea Island Golf Club. The Seaside Course is set to play host to the nation’s premier conference championship for the seventh-straight year.
TEAM SCORES (Par 852)
t1. Wake Forest 283-279-278 ? 840 -12; t1. Baylor 283-280-277 ? 840 -12; 3. Florida State 274-289-282 ? 845 -7; 4. Central Florida 270-288-288 ? 846 -6; 5. Augusta State 286-292-277 ? 855 +3; 6. Duke 288-291-281 ? 860 +8; t7. North Carolina 287-293-282 ? 862 +10; t7. Coastal Carolina 285-290-287 ? 862 +10; 9. South Carolina 289-294-283 ? 866 +14; 10. LSU 288-288-294 ? 870 +18; 11. NC State 297-293-281 ? 871 +19; 12. College of Charleston 291-295-289 ? 875 +23; 13. Kentucky 301-285-290 ? 876 +24; 14. Vanderbilt 292-300-293 ? 885 +33; 15. Arkansas 307-293-294 ? 894 +42
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 213)
1. Wallace Booth, Augusta State, 71-69-65 ? 205 -8; t2. Greg Forest, Central Florida, 66-67-73 ? 206 -7; t2. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 72-68-66 ? 206 -7; t4. Jeremy Frye, Baylor, 68-69-70 ? 207 -6; t4. Martin Ureta, North Carolina, 72-69-66 ? 207 -6; 6. Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina, 70-70-68 ? 208 -5; t7. Jeremy Alcorn, Baylor, 70-68-71 ? 209 -4; t7. Major Manning, Augusta State, 72-70-67 ? 209 -4; t9. Matthew Savage, Florida, State, 72-67-71 ? 210 -3; t9. Wes Williams, Baylor, 73-71-66 ? 210 -3
LSU SCORES
T17. Chris Wells 70-72-71 ? 213 E
T36. Brent Blaum 76-70-73 ? 219 +6
T47. Bryant Lach 70-75-76 ? 221 +8
T47. Brian Noonan 76-71-74 ? 221 +8
T74. Beck Troutman 72-83-78 ? 233 +20