ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Just when it seemed the 17th-ranked LSU men’s golf team was destined for a modest finish at the 2009 SEC Men’s Golf Championships, the Tigers blistered the par-72 course at Frederica Golf Club with their lowest score in 23 years at 11-under 277 to finish Sunday’s final round in a tie for fourth place overall.
The Tigers, who opened the final round in 10th place in the team standings, finished the weekend with a 54-hole score of 8-over 872 to tie 14th-ranked South Carolina for the fourth spot.
Not since the Chris Schenkel Invitational in 1986 have the Tigers fired a team score as low as 11-under 277 for 18 holes. This also marks LSU’s best finish at the SEC Championships since 2002, as the squad improves four spots from its tie for eighth place finish a year ago.
“This was a great round today by the guys, and it’s good for this team to finish the weekend with a positive round,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “This just shows the kind of talent this group of guys has. All the hard work they’ve put in this season is starting to yield results. They’ll get back to their studies, and we’ll work hard these next few weeks as we prepare for regionals.”
Leading the way for the Tigers once again was sophomore standout John Peterson, who earned a third-place finish in the individual standings in his third-straight tournament appearance.
After opening with back-to-back rounds of 1-under 71, Peterson matched the lowest round of his collegiate career with a 4-under 68 during Sunday’s action to finish the weekend with a sparkling 54-hole score of 6-under 210. Peterson becomes the first LSU Tiger to earn a Top 10 finish at the SEC Championships since All-American John Humphries tied for fifth place in 2003.
With LSU teeing off on the back nine to start the day, Peterson made the turn at 1-under par for a score of 3-under for the championship. He quickly dropped to 4-under on the day after making birdie on three of the first four holes on the back nine. After picking up two more shots with eagle on the par-five seventh hole, Peterson made bogey on No. 8 and No. 9 to finish with a 4-under 68.
“John continues to show that he is one of the best collegiate players in the country,” Winstead said. “His development over the past year is a testament of his willingness to work hard and keep improving. The way he has performed for us this spring is the result of that kind of dedication.”
While Peterson led the way with a Top 10 finish in three days of competition, sophomore Clayton Rotz‘s bogey-free 7-under 65 on Sunday was the best of the day of the 60 golfers in the field.
Rotz was brilliant from his opening tee shot as he fired out of the blocks with consecutive birdies on the par-four 10th, par-three 11th and par-four 12th holes. He then finished his front nine with back-to-back birdies on the par-four 17th and par-five 18th holes to drop to 5-under on his round. It didn’t end there as he fell to 7-under with birdies at the par-four third and par-five seventh to end the weekend with a 7-under par round of 65.
Not only is this a career best for the native of Chambersburg, Pa., but it is the lowest round for an LSU Tiger in relation to par since Sept. 30, 1997, when Jeremy Wilkinson fired a 7-under par 65 at the Tennessee Tournament of Champions at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville.
With his effort on Sunday, Rotz vaulted himself into a tie for 27th in the individual standings with a three-day score of 5-over 221 that also includes rounds of 9-over 81 and 3-over 75.
Fellow sophomore Andrew Loupe also found himself under par on Sunday as he finished the day with a 2-under 70 to tie for 21st place at 4-over 220 for the weekend. Freshman Sang Yi added his third-straight round of 3-over 75 to tie for 39th at 9-over 225, while freshman Josh Jones added an impressive 2-over 74 to tie for 52nd place at 14-over 230.
“I was really proud of both Clayton and Josh. They both played rounds that will help them as they move forward in their careers,” Winstead said. “Obviously, Clayton played a tremendous round. I thought Josh made great strides today in freeing it up. Andrew and Sang continue to prove just how competitive they are because they fight for every shot every time they tee it up.”
With the Tigers making the biggest jump of any team in the tournament in the final round, the top ranked Georgia Bulldogs put the finishing touches on their league-leading 25th SEC team title all-time with a 2-under par score of 286 in the final round for a 54-hole score of 15-under 849.
The Bulldogs, who teed off in the final round with a comfortable 10-shot lead over Arkansas, ran away with the team championship by 13 strokes as the Razorbacks finished a distant second.
The 10th-ranked Florida Gators placed third with a three-day total of 1-over par 865, including an even-par round of 288 on Sunday. Gator All-American Billy Horschel captured the individual SEC title by four shots over Carlos Sainz of Mississippi State with a score of 10-under 206.
After returning to Baton Rouge, the Tigers will await an at-large berth into the NCAA Regionals, which will be announced by the NCAA Selection Committee on Monday, May 4.
Six NCAA Regionals will be held May 14-16 on the following courses: Galloway National Golf Club (Galloway, N.J.); University of Texas Golf Club (Austin); Lake Merced Golf Club (Daly City, Calif.); Red Tail Golf Club (Sorrento, Fla.); The Club at Olde Stone; (Bowling Green, Ky.); and Karsten Creek Golf Club (Stillwater, Okla.).
SEC MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Georgia 282-281-286 ? 849 -15; 2. Arkansas 290-283-289 ? 862 -2; 3. Florida 292-285-288 ? 865 +1; T4. LSU 301-294-277 ? 872 +8; T4. South Carolina 293-286-293 ? 872 +8; 6. Alabama 308-284-281 ? 873 +9; 7. Kentucky 297-285-294 ? 876 +12; 8. Ole Miss 296-290-292 ? 878 +14; 9. Mississippi State 293-290-301 ? 884 +20; 10. Vanderbilt 292-293-301 ? 886 +22; 11. Tennessee 305-292-291 ? 888 +24; 12. Auburn 301-300-302 ? 903 +39.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Billy Horschel, Florida, 68-67-71 ? 206 -10; 2. Carlos Sainz, Mississippi State, 71-68-69 ? 208 -8; 3. John Peterson, LSU, 71-71-68 ? 210 -6; 4. Brian Harman, Georgia, 70-72-69 ? 211 -5; T5. Bud Cauley, Alabama, 73-70-69 ? 212 -4; T5. Harris English, Georgia, 70-74-68 ? 212 -4; T5. David Lingmerth, Arkansas, 70-69-73 ? 212 -4; 8. Jordan Blann, Kentucky, 67-70-76 ? 213 -3; 9. Andrew Landry, Arkansas, 73-71-70 ? 214 -2; T10. Wesley Bryan, South Carolina, 75-69-71 ? 215 -1; T10. Adam Mitchell, Georgia, 72-69-74 ? 215 -1.
LSU SCORES
3. John Peterson, 71-71-68 ? 210 -6
T21. Andrew Loupe, 77-73-70 ? 220 +4
T27. Clayton Rotz, 81-75-65 ? 221 +5
T39. Sang Yi, 75-75-75 ? 225 +9
T52. Josh Jones, 78-78-74 ? 230 +14