AWENDAW, S.C. — After opening the competition with a 1-over par round of 72 on Sunday, LSU sophomore Bryant Lach is closing in on his first career Top 10 finish following an even-par 71 in Monday’s second round at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.
Lach, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, wrapped up the second day of the competition in a tie for 12th place on the leaderboard with six other golfers at 1-over 143 for the championship.
Lach carded four birdies and four bogeys on his round en route to posting a team low score of 72 on the day. He opened the spring with his best career finish by tying for 38th place at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla., back on Feb. 10.
The Tigers wrapped up the second day of play with a team round of 11-over 295 to sit in a tie for ninth place in the team standings with the Virginia Tech Hokies at 17-over 585. After making the turn with a cumulative score of 10-over par on their front nine, the Tigers posted more red figures coming in to finish strong with a 1-over par back nine.
Senior Brian Noonan cut one stroke off of his first-round score with a 2-over 73 during Monday’s action and finished the day in a tie for 37th with teammate Clayton Rotz at 5-over 147. Rotz, who posted a 4-over 75 on the afternoon, finished strong for the second straight round with birdies on three of the last five holes on his back nine.
Freshman John Peterson followed his 1-over 72 in the first round with a 5-over 76 on Monday to finish the day in a tie for 44th at 6-over 148, while fellow freshman Andrew Loupe is tied for 73rd.
The 15th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks continue to lead the tournament with a two-round total of 2-under 566 despite giving up three shots to the field after entering the second round with a four-stroke lead in the team standings. NC State is one shot back in second place at 1-under 567 after firing the lowest team total of the tournament with a score of 5-under 279.
NC State’s Matt Hill is also making a charge in the race for medalist honors as he will open the final round with a one-stroke lead after firing the lowest individual round of the afternoon with a 4-under 67. Hill is currently one stroke clear of Wake Forest star Webb Simpson at 4-under 138.
First-round leader Justin Harding of Lamar was unable to build momentum following his 4-under 67 in the first round as he fell back into a tie for fifth at 1-under 141 with a 3-over 74 on Monday.
The Tigers are in the last wave teeing off from the back nine once again as they are paired with Wake Forest and College of Charleston in Tuesday’s final round and will tee off beginning at 8:40 a.m. CDT. Live scoring of the final round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
HOOTIE AT BULLS BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 568)
1. South Carolina 280-286 ? 566 -2; 2. NC State 288-279 ? 567 -1; 3. Clemson 285-284 ? 569 +1; 4. Florida 285-285 ? 570 +2; 5. Auburn 286-293 ? 579 +11; 6. Lamar 286-294 ? 580 +12; t7. Augusta State 284-298 ? 582 +14; t7. Central Florida 291-291 ? 582 +14; t9. LSU 290-295 ? 585 +17; t9. Virginia Tech 290-295 ? 585 +15; 11. Wake Forest 291-297 ? 588 +20; 12. College of Charleston 291-300 ? 591 +23; 13. Kentucky 296-297 ? 593 +25; 14. Duke 294-301 ? 595 +27; 15. Baylor 306-291 ? 597 +29.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 142)
1. Matt Hill, NC State, 71-67 ? 138 -4; 2. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest, 68-71 ? 139 -3; t3. Phillip Mollica, Clemson, 69-71 ? 140 -2; t3. Kyle Stanley, Clemson, 71-69 ? 140 -2; t5. Tyson Alexander, Florida, 71-70 ? 141 -1; t5. Andrew Byrd, NC State, 69-72 ? 141 -1; t5. Patrick Cunning, South Carolina, 70-71 ? 141 -1; t5. Justin Harding, Lamar, 67-74 ? 141 -1; t5. Jurrian van der Vaart, Virginia Tech, 70-71 ? 141; t10. Mark Anderson, South Carolina, 70-72 ? 142 E; t10. Greg Forest, Central Florida, 70-72 ? 142 E.
LSU SCORES
T12. Bryant Lach 72-71 ? 143 +1
T37. Brian Noonan 74-73 ? 147 +5
T37. Clayton Rotz 72-75 ? 147 +5
T44. John Peterson 72-76 ? 148 +6
T73. Andrew Loupe 81-78 ? 159 +17