AWENDAW, S.C. — Three Tigers posted rounds of 1-over par 72 to lead the LSU men’s golf team into a tie for eighth place after Sunday’s first round of the fourth-annual Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at scenic Bulls Bay Golf Club.
Sophomore Bryant Lach and freshmen John Peterson and Clayton Rotz each finished the day in a tie for 22nd place after firing matching scores of 1-over 72 at the par-71 layout. The Tigers are tied with Virginia Tech for eighth in the team standings with a team score of 6-over 290.
Rotz struggled out of the gate as he opened his round on the back nine with three straight bogeys. After falling to 4-over par after 11 holes, the Chambersburg, Pa., native lit up the course down the stretch and finished with three birdies in his last four holes for an 18-hole score of 72.
Peterson’s round was not quite as eventful as he carded a pair of birdies and three bogeys on the day, while Lach offset his four bogeys with three birdies to match Rotz’s effort in the first round.
The Tigers also counted a 3-over par round of 74 by senior Brian Noonan for their cumulative score of 6-over 290 during Sunday’s action. Noonan wrapped up the first day of the competition in a tie for 43rd place in the individual standings, while freshman standout Andrew Loupe added a 10-over 81 of his own to finish the day in 73rd.
The 15th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks will carry a four-stroke lead into Monday’s second round after lighting up the course with the only under-par round of the afternoon at 4-under 280. Augusta State currently sits in second place at even-par 284, while the 10th-ranked Florida Gators and 14th-ranked Clemson Tigers are tied for third place at 1-over 285.
Lamar’s Justin Harding fired the lowest individual round of the day with a 4-under 67 and holds a one-stroke lead over Augusta State’s Keith Guest and Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson.
The Tigers are in the last wave to tee off from the back nine during Monday’s second round beginning at 10:20 a.m. CDT as they are grouped with a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference teams in NC State and Virginia Tech. Live scoring of the second and third rounds of the tournament can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
HOOTIE AT BULLS BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 284)
1. South Carolina 280 -4; 2. Augusta State 284 E; t3. Florida 285 +1; t3. Clemson 285 +1; t5. Auburn 286 +2; t5. Lamar 286 +2; 7. NC State 288 +4; t8. LSU 290 +6; t8. Virginia Tech 290 +6; t10. College of Charleston 291 +7; t10. Wake Forest 291 +7; t10. Central Florida 291 +7; 13. Duke 294 +10; 14. Kentucky 296 +12; 15. Baylor 306 +22,
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 71)
1. Justin Harding, Lamar, 67 -4; t2. Keith Guest, Augusta State, 68 -3; t2. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 68 -3; t4. Andrew Byrd, NC State, 69 -2; t4. Phillip Mollica, Clemson, 69 -2; t4. Mark Silvers, South Carolina, 69 -2; t7. Mark Anderson, South Carolina, 70 -1; t7. Tyler Brown, Florida, 70 -1; t7. Patrick Cunning, South Carolina, 70 -1; t7. Greg Forest, Central Florida, 70 -1; t7. Ben Fuqua, Kentucky, 70 -1; t7. Nick MacDonald, Virginia Tech, 70 -1; t7. Jay Moseley, Auburn, 70 -1; t7. Tim Tang, College of Charleston, 70 -1; t7. Jurrian van der Vaart, Virginia Tech, 70 -1.
LSU SCORES
T22. Bryant Lach 72 +1
T22. John Peterson 72 +1
T22. Clayton Rotz 72 +1
T43. Brian Noonan 74 +3