STATESBORO, Ga. – The 27th-ranked LSU men’s golf team wrapped up Friday’s opening round of the 31st-annual Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational in a tie for sixth place in the team standings as junior Andrew Loupe, junior John Peterson and sophomore Austin Gutgsell each fired matching rounds of even-par 72 in the first day of competition at Forest Heights Country Club.
Despite finishing the afternoon in a tie for sixth place with the Vanderbilt Commodores after posting a 3-over par 291 in the opening round, the Tigers find themselves just six shots out of the lead heading into a second round on Saturday that is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. CT.
The 24th-ranked North Florida Ospreys fired an 18-hole score of 3-under par 285 to take an early one-shot lead over the Virginia Cavaliers in the team standings.
Ole Miss is two shots back in third place at 1-under 287, while Auburn sits in fourth place at even-par 288 and NC State follows in fifth place at 1-over 289. This year’s event features a strong 15-team field.
By opening with an even-par 72 in the first round, Loupe, Peterson and Gutgsell finished the first day in a tie for 20th place in the individual standings to lead the way for the Tigers.
In a day that appeared to be either feast or famine for the Tigers, the squad managed to finish with a score of 3-over par 291. While carding a team-high six birdies on the day, including three-straight birdies on holes No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, Gutgsell added four bogeys and one double bogey on his round to finish the day at even-par. Likewise, Loupe carded an eagle and three birdies with three bogeys and a double bogey, while Peterson evened his round out with four birdies and four bogeys.
The Tigers were also led in the first round by junior Clayton Rotz and sophomore Sang Yi as the duo tied for 52nd place in the individual standings with matching rounds of 3-over par 75. While competing as an individual, sophomore Josh Jones matched their effort with a 3-over par 75 to finish in a tie for 52nd place.
Virginia’s Will Collins has jumped out to a narrow one-stroke lead on the leaderboard over J.C. Horne of North Florida and Bank Vongvanij of Florida after opening with a 4-under 68 in the first round.
LSU will play alongside Auburn and NC State in Saturday’s second round and is slated to tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the event can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
SCHENKEL/E-Z-GO INVITATIONAL – FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 288)
1. North Florida 285 -3; 2. Virginia 286 -2; 3. Ole Miss 287 -1; 4. Auburn 288 E; 5. NC State 289 +1; T6. LSU 291 +3; T6. Vanderbilt 291 +3; T8. Georgia Southern 292 +4; T8. Alabama 292 +4; 10. South Carolina 293 +5; 11. Florida 294 +6; 12. Kentucky 295 +7; 13. Louisville 296 +8; 14. Tennessee 299 +11; 15. North Carolina 300 +12.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 72)
1. Will Collins, Virginia, 68 -4; T2. J.C. Horne, North Florida, 69 -3; T2. Bank Vongvanij, Florida, 69 -3; T4. Tyson Alexander, Florida, 70 -2; T4. Jordan Gibb, North Florida, 70 -2*; T4. Kevin Phelan, North Florida, 70 -2; T4. Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss, 70 -2; T4. Hunter Slatton, Alabama, 70 -2; T9. Jordan Blondell, Georgia Southern, 71 -1*; T9. Joe Byun, North Florida, 71 -1; T9. Ben Fuqua, Kentucky, 71 -1; T9. Ryan Haselden, Vanderbilt, 71 -1; T9. Matt Hill, NC State, 71 -1; T9. Pete Kellermann, Ole Miss, 71 -1; T9. Cole Moreland, Auburn, 71 -1; T9. Brad Revell, NC State, 71 -1; T9. Kyle Stough, Virginia, 71 -1; T9. Riley Wheeldon, Louisville, 71 -1; T9. Paul Woodbury, South Carolina, 71 -1.
LSU SCORES
T20. Austin Gutgsell, 72 E
T20. Andrew Loupe, 72 E
T20. John Peterson, 72 E
T52. Clayton Rotz, 75 +3
T52. Sang Yi, 75 +3
T52. Josh Jones, 75 +#*
* – Indicates player competing as an individual