AWENDAW, S.C. — LSU sophomore John Peterson continues to show why he is one of the top up-and-coming players in all of college golf after firing an impressive 8-under par score of 205 in 54 holes to finish in third place at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay Golf Club.
This marks the third time this season that Peterson has finished in the Top 10 of the leader board, while firing three-straight rounds under par at the par-71 layout.
The Fort Worth, Texas, native opened play in the final round just one shot out of the lead after he kicked off the tournament with a 3-under 68 in Sunday’s first round followed by a 4-under 67 in Monday’s second round before wrapping up the event with a solid 1-under 70 in the final round.
Augusta State senior Janne Kaske earned a two-shot victory over South Carolina’s George Bryan IV for medalist honors after firing a tournament-low 6-under 65 in the final round. Kaske finished six shots ahead of Peterson in the individual standings with a three-day total of 14-under 199 that includes back-to-back scores of 4-under 67 in the first and second rounds.
Peterson’s 54-hole score of 8-under 205 is a new career best as he tops his previous best effort of 3-under 213 set at the Squire Creek Invitational during the fall season.
He helped lead the Tigers to a sixth-place finish in the 15-team field as the squad posted a 54-hole score of 1-under 851 for the week, including a 3-over 287 in Tuesday’s final round. Augusta State ran away with the team title by eight shots while blistering the course to the tune of 17-under 835.
Peterson is making a strong case for first-team All-SEC consideration after earning his first career individual tournament title at the John Hayt Invitational back on Feb. 23, while he also picked up a Top 10 finish in LSU’s season opener at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 14 where he placed seventh. His 72.4 scoring average in 24 rounds this year also leads the LSU squad.
“John continued to play very well today, and a big part of that is how much he has improved with his putting in recent weeks,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “He even hit a lot of putts in this event that could have gone in but didn’t. He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
Sophomore Clayton Rotz matched Peterson’s effort with a 1-under 70 in the final round to earn a tie for 36th place in the individual standings at 5-over 218.
Rotz made his first tournament appearance in nearly six months this week when he was forced to withdraw from the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in September due to injury. After opening this year’s Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate with a 6-over 77 in the first round, Rotz followed with a solid round of even-par 71 on Monday before finishing with a 1-under 70 on Tuesday.
Sophomore Andrew Loupe also finished in the Top 20 of the leaderboard after recording a 2-over 73 in the final round for a three-day total of 1-over 214.
Junior Brent Blaum posted a 5-over 76 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 41st place at 6-over 219 on the week, while senior Jarrod Barsamian finished in a tie for 50th place at 8-over 221.
The Tigers were competing without the services of one of the nation’s top freshmen at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate as Sang Yi received his U.S. citizenship on Monday in Baton Rouge. Yi is tied with Peterson for the team lead with three Top 10 finishes on the season.
“Those were two solid rounds by Clayton to finish the week after not being in the lineup for such a long period of time,” Winstead said. “We had some guys who had an opportunity to step up and compete for us with Sang out of the lineup, and they did that this week. We look forward to Sang returning to the lineup next week when we head to Jackson.”
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season next week as they travel to Jackson, Miss., to tee it up in the Reunion Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss at Reunion Golf and Country Club. The two-day tournament is scheduled for 54 holes and will feature 36 holes on Monday, April 6, followed by a final 18 holes on Tuesday, April 7. It will be LSU’s second-straight appearance in the event.
LSU then makes its annual trip to St. Simons Island, Ga., to tee it up in the 2009 SEC Men’s Golf Championships to be held at Frederica Golf Club from April 17-19.
“Overall, we feel that this was a good event for us to play,” Winstead said. “The tee shots are real similar to what we will see at Frederica when we play at the SEC Championships. That is also the case for the greens and the areas around the greens. This was a good preparation for us.”
HOOTIE AT BULLS BAY INTERCOLLEGIATE ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 852)
1. Augusta State 286-272-277 ? 835 -17; 2. Virginia 288-278-277 ? 843 -9; 3. South Carolina 291-279-276 ? 846 -6; 4. Central Florida 291-274-283 ? 848 -4; 5. NC State 289-279-282 ? 850 -2; 6. LSU 289-275-287 ? 851 -1; T7. Clemson 294-274-287 ? 855 +3; T7. Wake Forest 293-278-284 ? 855 +3; 9. Kentucky 300-273-283 ? 856 +4; 10. Chattanooga 292-285-284 ? 861 +9; 11. North Carolina 299-282-285 ? 866 +14; 12. Georgia State 303-293-282 ? 878 +26; 13. College of Charleston 307-286-291 ? 884 +32; 14. South Carolina-Aiken 307-296-286 ? 889 +37; 15. Maryland 304-293-296 ? 893 +41.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 213)
1. Janne Kaske, Augusta State, 67-67-65 ? 199 -14; 2. George Bryan IV, South Carolina, 69-67-65 ? 201 -12; 3. John Peterson, LSU, 68-67-70 ? 205 -8; 4. Will Collins, Virginia, 69-70-68 ? 207 -6; T5. Jordan Blann, Kentucky, 74-64-71 ? 209 -4; T5. Matt Hill, NC State, 72-69-68 ? 209 -4; T5. Conrad von Borsig, Virginia, 72-69-68 ? 209 -4; T8. Blayne Barber, Central Florida, 75-65-70 ? 210 -3; T8. Ben Martin, Clemson, 73-66-71 ? 210 -3; T8. Henrik Norlander, Augusta State, 71-71-68 ? 210 -3.
LSU SCORES
3. John Peterson, 68-67-70 ? 205 -8
T19. Andrew Loupe, 74-67-73 ? 214 +1
T36. Clayton Rotz, 77-71-70 ? 218 +5
T41. Brent Blaum, 70-73-76 ? 219 +6
T50. Jarrod Barsamian, 77-70-74 ? 221 +8