AWENDAW, S.C. — Sophomore John Peterson fired a 3-under 68 and junior Brent Blaum carded a 1-under par 70 to lead the 23rd-ranked LSU men’s golf team into a tie for third place in the team standings following Sunday’s first round at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.
The Tigers finished the day with an 18-hole team score of 5-over 289 to tie NC State and sit three shots back of Augusta State in the race for the team championship at Bulls Bay Golf Club.
Peterson will tee off in the second round in sole possession of second place as he seeks his second individual title of the season. He trails only Janne Kaske of Augusta State in the race for medalist honors as Kaske fired an opening round 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead.
Peterson, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, fired out of the blocks in the opening round after teeing it up from the back nine as he made birdie on four of his first seven holes to make the turn at 4-under par for his round. He birdied the par-five 10th and par-three 12th holes before making back-to-back birdies par-four 15th and par-four 16th holes. After making two-straight birdies on the par-four fifth and par-five sixth holes, Peterson bogeyed the eighth home coming in for a 3-under 68.
Peterson was crowned champion of the John Hayt Invitational back on Feb. 23 to capture his first individual title of his LSU career and earn his second Top 10 finish of the season.
Blaum was just as impressive in finishing the day in a tie for sixth place with a 1-under par round of 70 to sit just three shots out of the lead. Blaum has put himself in a position to pick up his first Top 10 finish of the season after making his third start of the 2008-09 campaign.
Sophomore Andrew Loupe finished the first round in tie for 24th place with a 3-over 74, while senior Jarrod Barsamian and sophomore Clayton Rotz finished in a tie for 53rd place at 6-over 77.
The Tigers are paired with Central Florida and South Carolina in Monday’s second round and will tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the second and third rounds of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at the organization’s official website at www.golfstat.com.
HOOTIE AT BULLS BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 284)
1. Augusta State 286 +2; 2. Virginia 288 +4; T3. LSU 289 +5; T3. NC State 289 +5; T5. South Carolina 291 +7; T5. Central Florida 291 +7; 7. Chattanooga 292 +8; 8. Wake Forest 293 +9; 9. Clemson 294 +10; 10. North Carolina 299 +15; 11. Kentucky 300 +16; 12. Georgia State 303 +19; 13. Maryland 304 +20; T14. South Carolina-Aiken 307 +23; T14. College of Charleston 307 +23.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 71)
1. Janne Kaske, Augusta State, 67 ?4; 2. John Peterson, LSU, 68 ?3; T3. George Bryan IV, South Carolina, 69 ?2; T3. Will Collins, Virginia, 69 ?2; T3. Travis Wadkins, Wake Forest, 69 ?2; T6. Brent Blaum, LSU, 70 ?1; T6. Brandon Detweiler, NC State, 70 ?1; T6. Simon Ward, Central Florida, 70 ?1; T9. Henrik Norlander, Augusta State, 71 E; T9. Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga, 71 E.
LSU SCORES
2. John Peterson, 68 ?3
T6. Brent Blaum, 70 ?1
T24. Andrew Loupe, 74 +3
T53. Jarrod Barsamian, 77 +6
T53. Clayton Rotz, 77 +6