STILLWATER, Okla. — With a berth in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships still up for grabs, 16th-ranked LSU wrapped up the second round of the NCAA South Central Regional squarely on the cut line in fifth place following Friday’s action at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
The No. 4-seeded Tigers posted a 19-over par round of 307 on Friday to finish the afternoon with a 36-hole total of 29-over 605 in two days of competition for sole possession of fifth place.
The top five teams at the NCAA South Central Regional will earn a berth into the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships to be held May 26-30 at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The Tigers are currently three shots clear of sixth-place Wichita State for the fifth and final qualifying spot.
Tournament host and No. 1 seed Oklahoma State is running away with the team championship as the Cowboys will carry a 13-shot lead over Chattanooga into Saturday’s final round with a two-round total of 9-over 585. Oklahoma State followed an 8-over 296 in the opening round with a 1-over 289 in the second round with winds gusting as high as 32 mph at Karsten Creek.
Ninth-ranked and No. 2 seed Arkansas currently holds the third qualifying spot with a two-round total of 23-over 599, while No. 9 seed Northwestern is in fourth place at 27-over 603.
Sophomores John Peterson and Andrew Loupe continue to lead the way for the Tigers as both are in a tie for fifth place on the individual leaderboard heading into the final round.
After opening with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, Peterson posted a 4-over par 76 in Friday’s second round to finish the day in a tie for fifth place at 2-over 146 for the championship. Loupe has back-to-back rounds of even-par 72 and 2-over 74 to also sit in a fifth-place tie heading into Saturday.
Fellow sophomore Clayton Rotz is third on the team and tied for 41st place in the standings with a 36-hole score of 11-over par 155, including a 4-over 76 on Thursday and a 7-over 79 on Friday. Freshman Sang Yi added a 6-over 78 on Friday afternoon to finish the day in a tie for 49th place at 14-over 158, while fellow freshman Josh Jones is currently tied for 66th at 22-over 166.
Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State and Connor McHenry of Wichita State hold a narrow one-stroke lead in the race for medalist honors with a 36-hole score of 2-under 142.
The Tigers will play alongside Northwestern and Wichita State in Saturday’s final round and will tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the final round of the event will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Oklahoma State 296-289 ? 585 +9; 2. Chattanooga 298-300 ? 598 +22; 3. Arkansas 298-301 ? 599 +23; 4. Northwestern 302-301 ? 603 +27; 5. LSU 298-307 ? 605 +29; 6. Wichita State 306-302 ? 608 +32; T7. Baylor 301-308 ? 609 +33; T7. TCU 299-310 ? 609 +33; 9. Pepperdine 302-315 ? 617 +41; 10. Tulsa 299-320 ? 619 +43; 11. Denver 312-309 ? 621 +45; 12. Michigan State 306-319 ? 625 +49; 13. Oral Roberts 319-325 ? 644 +68.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
T1. Connor McHenry, Wichita State, 73-69 ? 142 -2; T1. Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State, 72-70 ? 142 -2; 3. Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga, 73-70 ? 143 -1; 4. Ben Rickett, Chattanooga, 72-73 ? 145 +1; T5. Andrew Loupe, LSU, 72-74 ? 146 +2; T5. John Peterson, LSU, 70-76 ? 146 +2; T5. Tom Hoge, TCU, 73-73 ? 146 +2; T5. Espen Kofstad, Denver, 75-71 ? 146 +2; T5. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State, 74-72 ? 146 +2; T10. Josh Anderson, Pepperdine, 75-72 ? 147 +3; T10. Eric Chun, Northwestern, 74-73 ? 147 +3; T10. Cody Paladino, Baylor, 74-73 ? 147 +6; T10. Ethan Tracy, Arkansas, 71-76 ? 147 +3.
LSU SCORES
T5. Andrew Loupe, 72-74 ? 146 +2
T5. John Peterson, 70-76 ? 146 +2
T41. Clayton Rotz, 76-79 ? 155 +11
T49. Sang Yi, 80-78 ? 158 +14
T66. Josh Jones, 82-84 ? 166 +22