JACKSON, Miss. — The 25th-ranked LSU men’s golf team teed off Monday in the first round of the Reunion Intercollegiate among the favorites to take home the team title, and the Tigers are in position to do just that after jumping out to a three-shot lead after two rounds of the 54-hole event at Reunion Golf and Country Club.
LSU will open Tuesday’s final round with a three-shot lead over 19th-ranked Arkansas after firing a 36-hole score of 20-over par 596 during Monday’s action.
The Tigers finished the first round of play in a tie for first place in the team race with Arkansas as both teams posted a 9-over 297 on a cold and windy morning at the par-72 layout. LSU then fired an 11-over par round of 299 in the afternoon to wrap up the day three shots ahead of the Hogs.
LSU is in a position to win its third tournament title of the season after also taking top honors this year at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 14 and the John Hayt Invitational on Feb. 24.
The Tigers were led Monday by a trio of players who finished the afternoon among the Top 10 of the leaderboard. Sophomore John Peterson continued his outstanding play by finishing the day in a tie for third place with a two-round total of 3-over 147, while fellow sophomore Clayton Rotz is three shots behind in a tie for sixth and freshman Sang Yi follows four back in a tie for eighth.
Peterson is poised for third Top 10 finish in his last four tournament starts and his fourth this year as he followed an even-par 72 in the first round with a 3-over 75 in the second round on Monday.
Rotz, who has cracked LSU’s starting five for the second week in a row, posted rounds of 4-over 76 and 2-over 74 to finish the day with a 36-hole score of 6-over 150. After missing LSU’s event at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate a week ago, Yi made his return to the lineup a good one as he carded a 1-over 73 and 6-over 78 for a two-round total of 7-over 151.
In fact, all five players in LSU’s starting lineup finished the first day of competition in the Top 20 of the leader board as freshman Josh Jones sits in a tie for 12th place at 8-over 152 and sophomore Andrew Loupe is in a tie for 20th place at 9-over 153 for the championship.
Jones enjoyed back-to-back rounds of 4-over 76 in his return to the starting lineup, while Loupe’s effort added rounds of 7-over 79 and 2-over 74 during Monday’s action.
The Vanderbilt Commodores follow LSU and Arkansas in third place at 26-over 602 for the week with North Florida and Southern Mississippi each 16 shots out of the lead in a tie for fourth place at 36-over 612. Vanderbilt’s Adam Hofmann will carry a one-stroke lead into the final round after firing rounds of 1-under 71 and even-par 72 for a 36-hole score of 1-under 143 on the day.
LSU is set to tee off in the final wave on the front nine in Tuesday’s final round as the squad goes off beginning at 8:50 a.m. CT alongside Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
REUNION INTERCOLLEGIATE ? FIRST & SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. LSU 297-299 ? 596 +20; 2. Arkansas 297-302 ? 599 +23; 3. Vanderbilt 306-296 ? 602 +26; T4. North Florida 314-298 ? 612 +36; T4. Southern Mississippi 311-301 ? 612 +36; 6. Ole Miss 311-303 ? 614 +38; 7. Auburn 313-302 ? 615 +39; 8. UNC-Greensboro 309-312 ? 621 +45; T9. Mississippi State 309-313 ? 622 +46; T9. UAB 309-313 ? 622 +46; 11. Southeastern Louisiana 319-309 ? 628 +52; 12. Memphis 317-317 ? 634 +58; T13. South Alabama 316-325 ? 641 +65; T13. Louisiana Tech 322-319 ? 641 +65; T13. Jackson State 326-324 ? 650 +74.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Adam Hofmann, Vanderbilt, 71-72 ? 143 -1; 2. Andrew Landry, Arkansas, 72-72 ? 144 E; T3. John Peterson, LSU, 72-75 ? 147 +3; T3. Sean Dale, Ole Miss, 76-71 ? 147 +3; 5. Glenn Northcutt, Auburn, 76-73 ? 149 +5; T6. Clayton Rotz, LSU, 76-74 ? 150 +6; T6. Zack Sucher, UAB, 74-76 ? 150 +6; T8. Sang Yi, LSU, 73-78 ? 151 +7; T8. Will Almand, UNC-Greensboro, 75-76 ? 151 +7; T8. Allen McFerran, Arkansas, 75-76 ? 151 +7; T8. Kyle Sonday, UNC-Greensboro, 72-79 ? 151 +7.
LSU SCORES
T3. John Peterson, 72-75 ? 147 +3
T6. Clayton Rotz, 76-74 ? 150 +6
T8. Sang Yi, 73-78 ? 151 +7
T12. Josh Jones, 76-76 ? 152 +8
T20. Andrew Loupe, 79-74 ? 153 +9