BREMERTON, Wash. — The 12th-ranked LSU men’s golf team enjoyed an outstanding first day of competition at the 2009 PING/Golfweek Invitational as it finished Sunday’s action in a tie for third place in the 15-team field with a 36-hole score of 16-over par 592.
Sunday’s first and second rounds marked the first action of the 2009-10 season for the Tigers as they are competing against a field that includes eight teams ranked in the Golfweek Preseason Top 25.
LSU followed its team score of 11-over 299 in the opening round with an impressive round of 5-over 293 in the second round to finish the day 15 shots behind No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State in the team standings. The Cowboys have jumped out to a 12-stroke lead with a two-round total of 1-over 577.
Third-ranked and tournament host Washington is in second place at 13-over 589, while the Tigers are tied with 16th-ranked Southern California at 16-over 592 heading into Monday’s final round.
Junior standout Andrew Loupe led the LSU attack on Sunday as he fired rounds of 1-over 73 and 2-under 70 to finish the day in sole possession of second place on the leaderboard at 1-under 143. Loupe is within striking distance of his first career individual title as he trails only All-American sophomore Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State, who holds a three-shot lead with a 36-hole score of 4-under 140 on Sunday.
The Baton Rouge native is also in position to match his best career finish after tying for second a year ago at the John Hayt Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Junior All-American John Peterson carded back-to-back rounds of 3-over 75 to finish the evening in a tie for 25th place at 6-over 150. Sophomore Sang Yi follows one shot back in a tie for 29th place at 7-over 151 while senior Brent Blaum is currently tied for 50th place and sophomore Josh Jones is tied for 65th place.
The Tigers will play with Arizona State and NC State in Monday’s final round as they are scheduled to tee off beginning at 10:50 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the event will be provided by Golfstat and can be seen online by logging on to the organization’s website at www.golfstat.com.
PING/GOLFWEEK INVITATIONAL ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Oklahoma State 290-287 ? 577 +1; 2. Washington 295-294 ? 589 +13; T3. LSU 299-293 ? 592 +16; T3. Southern California 305-287 ? 592 +16; 5. Arizona State 300-293 ? 593 +17; T6. NC State 297-301 ? 598 +22; T6. UNLV 309-289 ? 598 +22; 8. Alabama 305-295 ? 600 +24; 9. New Mexico 304-297 ? 601 +25; T10. Chattanooga 306-297 ? 603 +27; T10. Texas A&M 302-301 ? 603 +27; 12. Kent State 301-303 ? 604 +28; 13. Colorado State 305-300 ? 605 +29; 14. TCU 305-304 ? 609 +33; 15. Indiana 319-301 ? 620 +44.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State, 69-71 ? 140 -4; 2. Andrew Loupe, LSU, 73-70 ? 143 -1; T3. Morgan Hoffmann, Oklahoma State, 74-70 ? 144 E; T3. Trent Whitekiller, Oklahoma State, 71-73 ? 144 E; T5. Bud Cauley, Alabama, 71-74 ? 145 +1; T5. Charlie Hughes, Washington, 75-70 ? 145 +1; T7. Pontus Gad, TCU, 72-74 ? 146 +2; T7. Matthew Giles, Southern California, 77-69 ? 146 +2; T7. Martin Trainer, Southern California, 74-72 ? 146 +2; T7. Darren Wallace, Washington, 73-73 ? 146 +2.
LSU SCORES
T2. Andrew Loupe, 73-70 ? 143 -1
T25. John Peterson, 75-75 ? 150 +6
T29. Sang Yi, 76-75 ? 151 +7
T50. Brent Blaum, 75-79 ? 154 +10
T65. Josh Jones, 84-73 ? 157 +13