MACON, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team kicked off the third-annual Brickyard Collegiate Championship with a solid round of 5-over par 293 to finish Saturday’s opening round in a tie for fourth place in the team standings at the par-72 Brickyard at Riverside Golf Club.
The Tigers, who are competing in their third tournament in as many weeks, find themselves 11 shots back of first-round leader Augusta State. The Jaguars were the only squad to break par with an opening round 6-under 282 to finish the day nine shots clear of Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth.
Junior All-American John Peterson continues to lead the LSU attack after firing a 1-under 71 on Saturday to finish the day in a tie for ninth place on the individual leaderboard.
After teeing off from the back nine, Peterson got off to a quick start by making birdie on the par-four 10th hole before falling back to 1-over par for his round with a pair of bogeys at the par-four 13th and par-four 15th holes. Peterson then picked up a stroke with a birdie at the par-five 18th hole to make the turn at even-par on the day before finishing with a birdie on the par-four seventh hole for a 1-under 71.
Fellow junior Clayton Rotz matched Peterson’s effort with a 1-under 71 of his own as he also finished the day in a tie for ninth place while seeking his first top-10 finish of the season.
Rotz carded four birdies and three bogeys on his round to help lead the Tigers. He made birdie on the par-three fifth, par-five ninth, par-four 16th and par-five 18th holes, while dropping three shots with bogeys on the par-four first, par-four seventh and par-four 13th holes to finish the day with a 1-under par round of 71.
Junior standout Andrew Loupe added a 2-over 74 to LSU’s final team score to finish the afternoon in a tie for 32nd place overall, while sophomores Josh Jones and Sang Yi carded matching rounds of 5-over par 77 to finish the day in a tie for 57th place. Not only that, but fellow sophomore Austin Gutgsell will tee off in the second round in a tie for 32nd with a 2-over 74 while competing as an individual.
Kevin Foley of Penn State, John Tyler Griffin of Georgia Tech, Lanto Griffin of VCU, Russell Henley of Georgia, Mikey Moyers of Virginia Tech and Patrick Reed of Augusta State are currently in a six-way tie for first place in the individual standings at 3-under par 69.
Georgia Tech’s Bo Andrews and Augusta State’s Henrik Norlander find themselves one shot back in a tie for seventh place overall after firing matching rounds of 2-under 70 on Saturday.
The Tigers are paired with Clemson and North Florida in Sunday’s second round and will tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:20 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the second round will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online by logging on to www.golfstat.com.
BRICKYARD COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP ? FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 288)
1. Augusta State 282 -6; T2. Chattanooga 291 +3; T2. Virginia Commonwealth 291 +3; T4. LSU 293 +5; T4. Clemson 293 +5; T4. North Florida 293 +5; 7. Ole Miss 294 +6; T8. Florida State 296 +8; Virginia Tech 296 +8; T8. Penn State 296 +8; 11. Charlotte 297 +9; 12. Georgia Tech 298 +10; 13. Mercer 299 +11; 14. Georgia 300 +12; 15. Michigan 312 +24.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 72)
T1. Kevin Foley, Penn State, 69 -3; T1. John Tyler Griffin, Georgia Tech, 69 -3; T1. Lanto Griffin, VCU, 69 -3; T1. Russell Henley, Georgia, 69 -3; T1. Mikey Moyers, Virginia Tech, 69 -3; T1. Patrick Reed, Augusta State, 69 -3; T7. Bo Andrews, Georgia Tech, 70 -2; T7. Henrik Norlander, Augusta State, 70 -2; T9. John Peterson, LSU, 71 -1; T9. Clayton Rotz, LSU, 71 -1; T9. Sean Dale, North Florida, 71 -1; T9. Taylor Floyd, Augusta State, 71 -1; T9. Steven Fox, Chattanooga, 71 -1; T9. Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga, 71 -1; T9. James White, Georgia Tech, 71 -1.
LSU SCORES
T9. John Peterson, 71 -1
T9. Clayton Rotz, 71 -1
T32. Austin Gutgsell, 74 +2*
T32. Andrew Loupe, 74 +2
T57. Josh Jones, 77 +5
T57. Sang Yi, 77 +5
* – Denotes player competing as an individual