CHOUDRANT, La. — After firing the lowest team score in Tuesday’s final round, the LSU men’s golf team earned its best tournament finish in more than two years with a second-place finish at the Squire Creek Invitational at Squire Creek Country Club.
The Tigers blistered the course with an impressive 7-under par 281 in the final round, matching their lowest team round in relation to par this season after posting a 7-under 277 in the first round of the Scenic City Invitational on Sept. 10.
The squad posted a 54-hole total of 2-under 862 to earn its best finish since winning the 2005 Shoal Creek Intercollegiate at Shoal Creek Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 27, 2005.
“It’s a step in the right direction for our team,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “We showed some improvement today and got a little better on the greens after the way we putted the ball yesterday. That was the main difference in our performance in the final round.
“Playing greens like they have at Squire Creek is great for the development of our players. I look for them to be able to adjust sooner in tournaments and for our team to have more success.”
Freshman Andrew Loupe paced the Tigers on the second day of the competition after following a 2-over 74 in Monday’s first round with a 1-over 73 in the second round and a career best 4-under 68 in the final round. The Baton Rouge native just missed earning his first career top-10 finish by tying for 11th place with a three-round total of 1-under 215.
Fellow freshman Clayton Rotz posted his second straight top-10 finish by tying for eighth place at 2-under 214, including a 1-over 73 in the second round and a 1-under 71 in the final round. The second round continued Tuesday after being suspended late Monday due to heavy rain in the area.
Junior Jarrod Barsamian also enjoyed the best tournament of his LSU career as he tied Loupe for 11th place at 1-under 215 to earn his first career top-20 finish with his lowest 54-hole score.
Freshman John Peterson and senior Brian Noonan fired matching 1-under 71s in the final round to finish the event in a tie for 40th place and a tie 56th place, respectively. Sophomore Brent Blaum finished in a tie for 50th place at 8-over 224 while competing as an individual.
“Andrew played great in the final round after he got more comfortable on the greens. He’s a talented player, and we look forward to him having great success this year,” Winstead said. “The other guys also played well in the afternoon. Like I said, it was a good step in the right direction for our team, and we hope to continue to improve next week.”
The Ole Miss Rebels resumed their second round with a two-stroke lead in the race for the team title and held on for a two-stroke victory over the Tigers with a 54-hole score of 4-under 860. Tournament host Louisiana Tech wrapped up the event three strokes back in third place.
Louisiana Tech’s Matthew Harvey took home medalist honors with a 7-under 209, including a tournament best 8-under 64 in the final round. Harrison Moore of College of Charleston finished one stroke back in second place after posting a 54-hole score of 6-under 210.
The Tigers return to the links next week as they travel to Somis, Calif., to compete in the Club Glove Intercollegiate at Saticoy Country Club from Oct. 22-23 before wrapping up the fall season with an appearance in the Bridgestone Collegiate Championship at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., from Oct. 29-30.
SQUIRE CREEK INVITATIONAL ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Ole Miss 282-292-286 ? 860 -4; 2. LSU 290-291-281 ? 862 -2; 3. Louisiana Tech 298-283-282 ? 863 -1; 4. Jacksonville State 284-294-286 ? 864 E; 5. UL-Lafayette 292-287-286 ? 865 +1; 6. Arkansas State 296-288-283 ? 867 +3; 7. Middle Tennessee State 291-295-289 ? 875 +11; 8. College of Charleston 297-297-287 ? 881 +17; 9. UT-Arlington 294-301-287 ? 882 +18; 10. New Orleans 298-299-286 ? 883 +19; 11. Sam Houston State 294-293-298 ? 885 +21; 12. Southern Mississippi 293-297-301 ? 891 +27; 13. Nevada 295-301-296 ? 892 +28; 14. Arkansas-Little Rock 305-292-298 ? 895 +31; 15. Nebraska 298-299-303 ? 900 +36; 16. Rice 310-300-294 ? 904 +40; 17. UL-Monroe 307-309-290 ? 906 +42; 18. North Texas 304-306-297 ? 907 +43
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Matthew Harvey, Louisiana Tech, 74-71-64 ? 209 -7; 2. Harrison Moore, College of Charleston, 73-72-65 ? 210 -6; t3. Michael Smith, UL-Lafayette, 73-69-69 ? 211 -5; t3. Tyler Thompson, Arkansas State, 72-69-70 ? 211 -5; t5. Devin Carrey, UL-Lafayette, 73-73-67 ? 213 -3; t5. Jay Whitby, Arkansas-Little Rock, 72-69-72 ? 213 -3; t5. Kyle Ellis, Ole Miss, 69-72-72 ? 213 -3; t8. Clayton Rotz, LSU, 70-73-71 ? 214 -2; t8. Gonzalo Berlin, Jacksonville State, 70-73-71 ? 214 -2; t8. Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss, 72-71-71 ? 214 -2
LSU SCORES
T8. Clayton Rotz 70-73-71 ? 214 -2
T11. Andrew Loupe 74-73-68 ? 215 -1
T11. Jarrod Barsamian 69-71-75 ? 215 -1
T40. John Peterson 77-74-71 ? 222 +6
T50. *Brent Blaum 73-78-73 ? 224 +8
T56. Brian Noonan 77-77-71 ? 225 +9
* – denotes player competing as an individual