CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — LSU freshman John Peterson got off to a fast start with a 4-under 67 in the opening round and followed with a solid even-par round of 71 to lead the men’s golf team Monday at the Scenic City Invitational at Council Fire Golf Club.
The Tigers have put themselves in a position to earn a nice finish in their season opener as they wrapped up the day in a three-way tie for third place with a two-round total of 5-under par 563.
The squad opened the tournament by firing its lowest 18-hole score in relation to par since 2001 with an impressive 7-under 277 in the morning round. It followed with an afternoon round of 2-over 286 to finish the day tied for third with Oklahoma and Middle Tennessee State.
“It was good for us to get face some good competition to get an idea where we stand and what we need to improve upon,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “We got off to a good start and played a solid round in the morning and came back and played OK in the afternoon. It was a good day overall and we have a better feel about where we stand.”
Peterson is poised to earn his first career top-10 finish as he will tee off in Tuesday’s third and final round in a tie for 10th place at 4-under 138. The Fort Worth, Texas, native displayed his scoring potential as he totaled an eagle and eight birdies on the day to go along with six bogeys.
Senior standout Brian Noonan also finds himself in the Top 20 heading into the final round as he fired rounds of 2-under 69 and even-par 71 to sit in a tie for 19th place at 2-under 140.
Peterson is joined by two other freshmen in the LSU lineup as Clayton Rotz and Andrew Loupe are also making their collegiate debut. Rotz posted rounds of 72 and 69 to finish in a tie for 23rd at 1-under 141, while Loupe carded a 69 and 75 to sit in a tie for 33rd at 2-over 144. Senior Beck Troutman is currently tied for 82nd at 12-over 154.
“The guys played well today, and the three freshmen in particular have a better idea of what playing college golf is all about,” Winstead said. “They’re not used to playing 36 holes in one day very much. This was important for their experience and development as we move forward.”
Charlotte and tournament host UT-Chattanooga are locked in a two-team battle for the team title as they are 16 shots clear of the rest of the field heading into the final round.
Charlotte, which finished fifth at the NCAA Championships last season, fired rounds of 12-under 272 and 13-under 271 to hold the second-round lead at 25-under 543. UT-Chattanooga follows four shots back at 21-under 547 after posting rounds of 12-under 272 and 9-under 547.
Stefan Wiedergruen of Charlotte and Tripp Harris of UT-Chattanooga are also deadlocked in the race for medalist honors as they are tied atop the individual leader board with a 36-hole score of 9-under 133. Eric Durbin and Phillip Bryan of Oklahoma and Corey Nagy of Charlotte are three shots back in a tie for third place at 6-under 136.
The Tigers are paired with Oklahoma and Southeastern Louisiana in Tuesday’s final round and will tee off beginning at 8:45 a.m. CDT. Live scoring of the final round will be provided by Golfstat and can be found on the organization’s official website at www.golfstat.com.
2007 SCENIC CITY INVITATIONAL ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 568)
1. Charlotte 272-271 ? 543 -25; 2. UT-Chattanooga 272-275 ? 547 -21; t3. LSU 277-286 ? 563 -5; t3. Oklahoma 277-286 ? 563 -5; t3. Middle Tennessee State 281-282 ? 563 -5; 6. Southeastern Louisiana 285-282 ? 567 -1; 7. Akron 283-288 ? 571 +3; 8. Mississippi State 287-288 ? 575 +7; 9. Furman 291-289 ? 580 +12; t10. Ole Miss 281-300 ? 581 +13; t10. South Florida 290-291 ? 581 +13; 12. Virginia Commonwealth 290-293 ? 583 +15; 13. Western Carolina 298-287 ? 585 +17; t14. Louisiana Tech 296-290 ? 586 +18; t14. Southern Miss 295-291 ? 586 +18; 16. Francis Marion 294-297 ? 591 +23; 17. Mercer 300-299 ? 599 +31
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 142)
t1. Tripp Harris, UT-Chattanooga, 64-69 ? 133 -9; t1. Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte, 68-65 ? 133 -9; t3. Phillip Bryan, Oklahoma, 66-70 ? 136 -6; t3. Eric Durbin, Oklahoma, 64-72 ? 136 -6; t3. Corey Nagy, Charlotte, 68-68 ? 136 -6; t6. Graham Benson, Southeastern Louisiana, 67-70 ? 137 -5; t6. Jonas Enander Hedin, Charlotte, 67-70 ? 137 -5; t6. Chas Narramore, Middle Tennessee State, 67-70 ? 137 -5; t6. Derek Rende, UT-Chattanooga, 69-68 ? 137 -5; t10. John Peterson, LSU, 67-71 ? 138 -4; t10. Trevor Murphy, Charlotte, 70-68 ? 138 -4; t10. Craig Smith, Middle Tennessee State, 68-70 ? 138 -4
LSU SCORES
T10. John Peterson 67-71 ? 138 -4
T19. Brian Noonan 69-71 ? 140 -2
T23. Clayton Rotz 72-69 ? 141 -1
T33. Andrew Loupe 69-75 ? 144 +2
T82. Beck Troutman 77-77 ? 154 +12