Peterson, Tigers Lead David Toms Intercollegiate

BATON ROUGE ? Fueled by a record-setting 11-under par 273 in Monday’s second round, the LSU men’s golf team wrapped up the first day of competition at the inaugural David Toms Intercollegiate at The Country Club of Louisiana with a three-shot lead over the rest of the 14-team field.

After opening with a 1-over par round of 285 in the morning, the Tigers lit up the par-71 layout with an impressive 11-under 273 in the afternoon for a 36-hole score of 10-under 558.

The Country Club of Louisiana features a traditional par-72 design, but is playing to a par 71 this week as the 402-yard, par-four eighth hole was reduced to a 145-yard par-three due to excess water in the wake of a series of heavy thunderstorms to roll through the Baton Rouge area in recent weeks.

LSU’s 11-under 273 on Monday matches the collegiate record for a single round in relation to par at The Country Club of Louisiana as East Tennessee State (1998) and LSU (2000) each fired 11-under par scores when the course played host to the Country Club of Louisiana Intercollegiate.

The Tigers will tee off in Tuesday’s final round with a three-shot lead over the Kent State Golden Flashes who are in the running for the team championship at 7-under 561.

“I’m very proud of the team’s performance in the second round. We started to play a little more like we’re capable of playing,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “A few of the guys had rough starts to the tournament, but as I keep saying, it’s just a matter of time before we start playing some really good golf. I know we have a great group of guys that work hard and need to be a little more patient with themselves.

“This team sets the bar high for itself. The bottom line is that we are only through the first six innings of a nine inning game. We need to go out tomorrow and keep the pedal down.”

Junior John Peterson put his All-America form on display for the hometown fans as he fired back-to-back rounds of 5-under 66 to grab a two-shot lead in the race for the individual crown. Peterson, who carded an impressive total of 12 birdies in 36 holes, finished the day with a two-round score of 10-under 132.

Peterson finds himself in position to capture his second career individual title as he is also the defending champion of the John Hayt Invitational after taking the title last spring. His performance Monday matches the 36-hole collegiate record in relation to par at The Country Club of Louisiana set by former Tiger Alan Morgan at the Country Club of Louisiana Intercollegiate during the 2000 season.

The Fort Worth, Texas, native will enter the final round with a two-stroke lead over Mackenzie Hughes of Kent State, who fired an 8-under par 134 in two rounds. Joel Thelen of Louisiana Tech is three shots back in third place at 5-under 137, while four competitors are tied for fourth place at 4-under 138.

“John hit the ball well all day today and really rolled the ball well on the greens,” Winstead said. “As low as his score was, he certainly had more in the tank. He hit a lot of great putts that just didn’t drop. He’s an outstanding competitor, and I know that he wants to come out and play well again tomorrow.”

After opening the championship with a 2-over 73 in the first round, junior Andrew Loupe followed with a 3-under 68 in the second round to finish the day in a tie for 18th place at 1-under 141.

Sophomore Josh Jones is also in position to earn his best finish of the season after firing rounds of 1-under 70 and even-par 72 for a 36-hole score of even-par 142. Junior Clayton Rotz and sophomore Sang Yi are currently tied for 46th place after posting matching totals of 4-over 146. Both fired their best rounds of the day in the afternoon as Yi posted a 2-under 69 and Rotz carded a 1-under 70.

Three Tigers are competing as individuals this week as sophomore Austin Gutgsell finished the afternoon in a tie for 32nd place at 2-over 144, while senior Brent Blaum tied for 38th place at 3-over 145 and senior Brian Leveille tied for 73rd place individually at 15-over 157.

The Tigers are paired with Kent State and Southeastern Louisiana in Tuesday’s final round and will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the final round is available online at www.golfstat.com.

DAVID TOMS INTERCOLLEGIATE ? SECOND ROUND RESULTS

TEAM SCORES (Par 568)
1. LSU 285-273 ? 558 -10; 2. Kent State 283-278 ? 561 -7; 3. Southeastern Louisiana 289-275 ? 564 -4; 4. North Florida 289-276 ? 565 -3; T5. Pepperdine 285-281 ? 566 -2; T5. Ole Miss 286-280 ? 566 -2; 7. Mississippi State 288-279 ? 567 -1; 8. Northwestern 279-292 ? 571 +3; 9. Rice 285-287 ? 572 +4; 10. Louisiana Tech 290-283 ? 573 +5; 11. UAB 286-289 ? 575 +7; 12. Auburn 291-291 ? 582 +14; 13. South Alabama 295-288 ? 583 +15; 14. Louisiana-Lafayette 299-287 ? 586 +18.

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 142)
1. John Peterson, LSU, 66-66 ? 132 -10; 2. Mackenzie Hughes, Kent State, 68-66 ? 134 -8; 3. Joel Thelen, Louisiana Tech, 70-67 ? 137 -5; T4. Philipp Fendt, Louisiana-Lafayette, 70-68 ? 138 -4; T4. Alvaro Arizabaleta, Southeastern Louisiana, 72-66 ? 138 -4; T4. Marc-Ettienne Bussieres, South Alabama, 74-64 ? 138 -4; T4. John Hahn, Kent State, 70-68 ? 138 -4; T8. Billy Brozovich, Ole Miss, 69-70 ? 139 -3; T8. T8. Jade Scott, Rice, 67-72 ? 139 -3; T8. Robi Calvesbert, Mississippi State, 72-67 ? 139 -3; T8. Nicholas Losole, Northwestern, 69-70 ? 139 -3.

LSU SCORES
1. John Peterson, 66-66 ? 132 -10
T18. Andrew Loupe, 73-68 ? 141 -1
T22. Josh Jones, 70-72 ? 142 E
T32. Austin Gutgsell, 71-73 ? 144 +2*
T38. Brent Blaum, 72-73 ? 145 +3*
T46. Sang Yi, 77-69 ? 146 +4
T46. Clayton Rotz, 76-70 ? 146 +4
T73. Brian Leveille, 77-80 ? 157 +15*

David Toms Intercollegiate
Country Club of Louisiana

Day 1 Team Results

Team, Rd. 1 – Rd. 2 — Total, To Par
1. LSU, 285 – 273 — 558 -10
2. Kent State, 283 – 278 — 561 -7
3. Southeastern Louisiana, 289 – 275 — 564 -4
4. North Florida, 289 – 276 — 565 -3
T5. Pepperdine, 285 – 281 — 566 -2
T5. Ole Miss, 286 – 280 — 566 -2
7. Mississippi St., 288 – 279 — 567 -1
8. Northwestern, 279 – 292 — 571 +3
9. Rice, 285 – 287 — 572 +4
10. Louisiana Tech, 290 – 283 — 573 +5
11. UAB, 286 – 289 — 575 +7
12. Auburn, 291 – 291 — 582 +14
13. South Alabama, U. of, 295 – 288 — 583 +15
14. Louisiana-Lafayette, 299 – 287 — 586 +18

Individual Results through 2 rounds

Name (hole), Team, Rd. 1 – Rd. 2 — Total, To Par
1. John Peterson (1A), LSU, 66 – 66 — 132, -10
2. Mackenzie Hughes (6), Kent State, 68 – 66 — 134, -8
3. Joel Thelen (13), Louisiana Tech, 70 – 67 — 137, -5
T4. Alvaro Arizabaleta (5), Southeastern Louisiana, 72 – 66 — 138, -4
T4. Marc-Ettienne Bussieres (12B), South Alabama, 74 – 64 — 138, -4
T4. Philipp Fendt (12A), Louisiana-Lafayette, 70 – 68 — 138, -4
T4. John Hahn (4A), Kent State, 70 – 68 — 138, -4
T8. Billy Brozovich (8), Mississippi, 69 – 70 — 139, -3
T8. Robi Calvesbert (17), Mississippi St. U., 72 – 67 — 139, -3
T8. Nicholas Losole (3), Northwestern, 69 – 70 — 139, -3
T8. Jade Scott (10A), Rice, 67 – 72 — 139, -3
T12. Joe David (10B), Mississippi, 74 – 66 — 140, -2
T12. Kevin Phelan (2), North Florida, 70 – 70 — 140, -2
T12. Andrew Putnam (8), Pepperdine, 69 – 71 — 140, -2
T12. Jonathan Randolph (9), Mississippi, 67 – 73 — 140, -2
T12. Cedric Scotto (4A), Southeastern Louisiana, 72 – 68 — 140, -2
T12. Blake West (15), UAB, 71 – 69 — 140, -2
T18. Jonathan Bale (14B), Louisiana Tech, 73 – 68 — 141, -1
T18. Sean Dale (1B), North Florida, 74 – 67 — 141, -1
T18. Andrew Loupe (2), LSU, 73 – 68 — 141, -1
T18. Shane Mason (9), Pepperdine, 74 – 67 — 141, -1
T22. Christopher Brown (11), Rice, 72 – 70 — 142, E
T22. Jack Hiluta (12A), South Alabama, 72 – 70 — 142, E
T22. Josh Jones (3), LSU, 70 – 72 — 142, E
T22. Chris Kennedy (3), North Florida, 75 – 67 — 142, E
T22. Carl Smith IV (10A), Pepperdine, 70 – 72 — 142, E
T22. Rhys West (15) *, Southeastern Louisiana, 73 – 69 — 142, E
T28. Brett Cairns (5), Kent State, 74 – 69 — 143, 1
T28. Sam Chien (1A), Northwestern, 69 – 74 — 143, 1
T28. Lee Heaton (15), Mississippi St. U., 70 – 73 — 143, 1
T28. Blake Watts (17), UAB, 71 – 72 — 143, 1
T32. Kevin Aylwin (4B), North Florida, 71 – 73 — 144, 2
T32. Jonathan Bowers (2), Northwestern, 69 – 75 — 144, 2
T32. John Darby (16B), UAB, 71 – 73 — 144, 2
T32. Austin Gutgsell (17) *, LSU, 71 – 73 — 144, 2
T32. Kyle Kopsick (4A), Auburn, 72 – 72 — 144, 2
T32. Andrew Widmar (11), Pepperdine, 72 – 72 — 144, 2
T38. Brent Blaum (18) *, LSU, 72 – 73 — 145, 3
T38. Mike Genovese (16A), Mississippi St. U., 74 – 71 — 145, 3
T38. David Lipsky (1B), Northwestern, 72 – 73 — 145, 3
T38. Brad Mason (18), Mississippi St. U., 77 – 68 — 145, 3
T38. Tommy Sikes (7A), Southeastern Louisiana, 69 – 76 — 145, 3
T38. James Taverner (7B), Southeastern Louisiana, 78 – 67 — 145, 3
T38. Michael Whitehead (9), Rice, 73 – 72 — 145, 3
T38. David Zickler (6), Auburn, 72 – 73 — 145, 3
T46. Robert Burrow (10B), Rice, 73 – 73 — 146, 4
T46. Michael Buttacavoli (8), Rice, 73 – 73 — 146, 4
T46. Isaac Charette (7A), Kent State, 71 – 75 — 146, 4
T46. J.C. Horne (1A), North Florida, 74 – 72 — 146, 4
T46. Cole Moreland (5), Auburn, 73 – 73 — 146, 4
T46. Andrew Noto (12B), Louisiana-Lafayette, 75 – 71 — 146, 4
T46. Clayton Rotz (1B), LSU, 76 – 70 — 146, 4
T46. Sang Yi (4B), LSU, 77 – 69 — 146, 4
T54. Tom Brown (11), Mississippi, 76 – 71 — 147, 5
T54. John Stembridge (7B), Auburn, 74 – 73 — 147, 5
T56. Brooks Bankhead (16B), Mississippi St. U., 72 – 76 — 148, 6
T56. Cody Blankenship (14A), Louisiana Tech, 73 – 75 — 148, 6
T56. Matthew Harvey (12B), Louisiana Tech, 75 – 73 — 148, 6
T56. Will McCurdy (7A), Auburn, 74 – 74 — 148, 6
T60. Josh Anderson (10B), Pepperdine, 78 – 71 — 149, 7
T60. Jason Shufflebotham (18), UAB, 73 – 76 — 149, 7
T62. Horacio Leon (6), Southeastern Louisiana, 76 – 74 — 150, 8
T62. J.P. Paiement (7B), Kent State, 75 – 75 — 150, 8
T62. Chris Piumelli (13), South Alabama, 74 – 76 — 150, 8
T62. Kyle Pritchard (13), Louisiana-Lafayette, 76 – 74 — 150, 8
T62. Cody Santone (12A), Louisiana Tech, 74 – 76 — 150, 8
T62. Adam West (16A), UAB, 75 – 75 — 150, 8
68. Ravi Patel (4B), Northwestern, 75 – 77 — 152, 10
T69. Garth Boyd (14B), South Alabama, 75 – 78 — 153, 11
T69. Mark Brockhurst (14B), Louisiana-Lafayette, 78 – 75 — 153, 11
T69. Thomas Petts (14A), Louisiana-Lafayette, 79 – 74 — 153, 11
72. Ethan Savoy (16B) *, Louisiana-Lafayette, 75 – 79 — 154, 12
T73. Christian Blanchet (14A), South Alabama, 78 – 79 — 157, 15
T73. Brian Leveille (16A) *, LSU, 77 – 80 — 157, 15
75. Chris Mullhaupt (10A), Mississippi, 80 – 80 — 160, 18