GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The LSU men’s golf team was impressive during Sunday’s final round at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course as the Tigers fired the lowest team round of the day at 2-under par 278 to rally for a fifth-place tie in the final tournament standings.
The Tigers, who opened the final round in 11th place in the 14-team field, soared up the final leaderboard to finish the championship with a 54-hole score of 32-over 872.
LSU’s appearance in the SunTrust Gator Invitational marked the start of a spring season that features five more tournaments leading up to the 2010 SEC Men’s Golf Championships in April.
“I’m happy with our resolve to come out and post a goof round today. I believe our guys are getting better and one of the ways they are improving is by learning to handle the disappointments that are a part of competition,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “It was nice to rebound today from what was a very poor start. I look forward to helping these guys continue to improve throughout the spring.”
LSU was impressive as four Tigers finished the final round at par or better, led by junior Andrew Loupe‘s 1-under 69 en route to a second-place finish in the final individual standings.
Loupe entered the day just one shot out of the lead after opening the championship Saturday with a pair of 1-over 71s in the first and second rounds. He then fired a 1-under 69 in Sunday’s final round to finish one shots behind Ole Miss’ Jonathan Randolph for the individual crown with a 54-hole score of 1-over 211.
The Baton Rouge native has enjoyed much success in the SunTrust Gator Invitational throughout his LSU career as he also finished in a tie for fourth place in the event as a freshman in 2008.
“We’re obviously very happy for Andrew,” Winstead said. “We made an adjustment to the plane of his swing accompanied with a change in his release over the winter break. It’s nice to see his hard work being rewarded in a big way this weekend. We’ll continue to work each week to get better.”
Sophomore Austin Gutgsell matched Loupe’s effort with a career-low round of 1-under 69 on Sunday for a tie for 51st place with a three-round total of 15-over par 225. Junior All-American John Peterson and sophomore Josh Jones each fired matching rounds of even-par 70 on Sunday to help lead the way for LSU in the final round. Peterson finished the event in a tie for 31st place at 11-over 221, while Jones finished in a tie for 63rd place overall at 20-over par 230.
Sophomore standout Sang Yi followed a 2-over 72 in the first round and 5-over 75 in the second round on Saturday with another 5-over par 75 in Sunday’s final round to tie for 36th place at 12-over 222.
The No. 4-ranked and tournament host Florida Gators defended their team championship by firing a three round score of 1-over par 841, including a 1-under 279 in the final round. The Florida State Seminoles finished 18 shots back in second place at 19-over 859, while Chattanooga (869) and Lamar (870) finished in third place and fourth place, respectively.
The Tigers will return to action in two weeks as they travel to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Feb. 28-March 2 looking to defend their team title at the John Hayt Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club.
GATOR INVITATIONAL – FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 283-279-279 – 841 +1; 2. Florida State 283-291-285 – 859 +19; 3. Chattanooga 282-289-298 – 869 +29; 4. Lamar 295-294-281 – 870 +30; T5. LSU 297-297-278 – 872 +32; T5. Duke 300-288-284 – 872 +32; 7. North Florida 296-291-286 – 873 +33; 8. Central Florida 296-292-291 – 879 +39; 9. Georgia Southern 301-291-291 – 883 +43; 10. Ole Miss 299-289-298 – 886 +46; 11. UAB 297-294-299 – 890 +50; 12. Coastal Carolina 300-304-294 – 898 +58; 13. Mississippi State 302-303-295 – 900 +60; 14. Georgia State 300-304-297 – 901 +61.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
1. Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss, 71-72-67 – 210 E; 2. Andrew Loupe, LSU, 71-71-69 – 211 +1; T3. Tim McKenney, Florida, 77-69-66 – 212 +2; T3. Andres Echavarria, Florida, 68-74-70 – 212 +2; T3. Tyson Alexander, Florida, 71-70-71 – 212 +2; 6. Julian Suri, Duke, 71-70-72 – 213 +3; T7. Sean Dale, North Florida, 73-70-71 – 214 +4; T7. Nuno Henriques, Central Florida, 72-70-72 – 214 +4; T7. Bank Vongvanij, Florida, 72-70-72 – 214 +4; T7. Phillip Choi, Florida, 72-70-72 – 214 +4; T7. Michael Hebert, Florida State, 67-75-72 – 214 +4; T7. Pierre Alexis Rolland, Lamar, 73-73-68 – 214 +4.
LSU SCORES
2. Andrew Loupe, 71-71-69 – 211 +1
T31. John Peterson, 78-73-70 – 221 +11
T36. Sang Yi, 72-75-75 – 222 +12
T51. Austin Gutgsell, 78-78-69 – 225 +15
T63. Josh Jones, 76-84-70 – 230 +20