GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU freshman Andrew Loupe showed little rust from a three-month layoff as he lit up the Mark Bostick Golf Course with 12 birdies and an eagle on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Gator Invitational.
After opening the day with a 2-under par round of 68, Loupe fired the lowest round of his young career with a 5-under 65 in the afternoon to finish the day with a 36-hole total of 7-under 133.
Despite recording two bogeys and two double bogeys on his opening round, Loupe finished the morning in a tie for seventh place in the individual standings after carding a tournament best eight birdies, including five in a six-hole stretch on the front nine.
He vaulted to the top of the leader board after a near flawless second round in which he carded an eagle and four birdies with just one bogey for his best round in an LSU uniform.
“Andrew had a great day today, but I think that it’s only a matter of time before more of his talent is shown,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “He will be a much better player and a more consistent player with more experience competing at this level. We will see many more days like that from Andrew Loupe in his career here.”
Loupe will carry a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round as Jonas Blixt of Florida State is nipping at his heels after firing back-to-back rounds of 3-under 67 to finish at 6-under 134.
“I really think that Andrew is capable of hitting the ball much better than he did today, but the game is never perfect,” Winstead said. “If our guys are waiting to hit it perfect or putt it perfect to shoot good scores, then those good scores will never happen. A player has to figure out how to shoot a good score even when he’s not playing his best. Andrew did that today.”
Loupe helped lead the Tigers into sole possession of fifth place in the 14-team field as they followed a 3-over 283 in the first round with a 1-under 79 in the second round to finish the day with a 36-hole total of 2-over par 562.
Junior Jarrod Barsamian carded rounds of 2-over 72 and 1-over 71 to finish the day in a tie for 36th place at 3-over 143. Senior Brian Noonan and sophomore Bryant Lach posted matching 36-hole scores of 4-over 144 on the afternoon to sit in a tie for 41st, while freshman John Peterson finished in a tie for 57th place at 7-over 147.
“I thought it was a pretty fair start for our guys today,” Winstead said. “We got the chance to compete against an outstanding field in some ideal conditions, and we look forward for more of the same tomorrow.”
The homestanding Florida Gators are running away with the team title after finishing the day with a 12-stroke lead in the team standings. Four Gators find themselves in the Top 10 as they posted a 36-hole team score of 18-under 542. Florida State is currently in second at 6-under 554.
The Tigers are paired with Mississippi State and Ole Miss in Sunday’s final round and will tee off from the front nine beginning at 7:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the third and final round of the Gator Invitational will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
GATOR INVITATIONAL ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 560)
1. Florida 269-273 ? 542 -18; 2. Florida State 278-276 ? 554 -6; 3. UAB 276-280 ? 556 -4; 4. Ole Miss 280-281 ? 561 +1; 5. LSU 283-279 ? 562 +2; 6. Mississippi State 288-275 ? 563 +3; 7. South Alabama 283-282 ? 565 +5; t8. Wake Forest 288-278 ? 566 +6; t8. Coastal Carolina 283-283 ? 566 +6; 10. Georgia Southern 287-282 ? 569 +9; t11. Duke 289-281 ? 570 +10; t11. North Florida 284-286 ? 570 +10; 13. Georgia State 290-290 ? 580 +20; 14. South Florida 291-294 ? 585 +25
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 140)
1. Andrew Loupe, LSU, 68-65 ? 133 -7; 2. Jonas Blixt, Florida State, 67-67 ? 134 -6; t3. Billy Horschel, Florida, 67-68 ? 135 -5; t3. Zach Sucher, UAB, 68-67 ? 135 -5; t3. Bank Vongvanij, Florida, 68-67 ? 135 -5; t6. Tyson Alexander, Florida, 66-70 ? 136 -4; t6. Tripp McAllister, Coastal Carolina, 68-68 ? 136 -4; t6. Toby Ragland, Florida, 69-67 ? 136 -4; t6. Michael Schachner, Duke, 68-68 ? 136 -4; 10. Johnny Caldwell, South Alabama, 68-69 ? 137 -3
LSU SCORES
1. Andrew Loupe 68-65 ? 133 -7
T36. Jarrod Barsamian 72-71 ? 143 +3
T41. Bryant Lach 73-71 ? 144 +4
T41. Brian Noonan 70-74 ? 144 +4
T57. John Peterson 75-72 ? 147 +7