STATESBORO, Ga. – A solid round of 2-under par 70 by sophomore Austin Gutgsell helped set the pace for the 27th-ranked LSU men’s golf team during Saturday’s second round at the 31st-annual Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational as the Tigers finished the day in a tie for sixth place in the team standings.
The Tigers posted an 18-hole team score of 1-over par 289 at Forest Heights Country Club on Saturday as they wrapped up the day in a tie for sixth place overall with the 24th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide with a two-round total of 4-over 580 at the par-72 layout.
After carding an even-par 72 in Friday’s opening round, Gutgsell catapulted himself into the top 10 of the leaderboard in a tie for 10th place at 2-under 142 with an impressive 2-under 70 during Saturday’s action.
Gutgsell was nearly flawless in the second round as he only carded three birdies with just one bogey in 18 holes for a final score of 2-under par. After opening with a bogey on his very first hole of the day at the par-four first, Gutgsell wrapped up the front nine with a birdie at the par-five ninth hole before making the turn at even-par on his round. He then followed with birdies at the par-five 12th and par-four 17th holes to finish the day with a team-low round of 2-under 70.
Sophomore Sang Yi was LSU’s second-lowest scorer on the day as he added an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 38th place at 3-over 147. Junior John Peterson carded a 1-over 73 to finish the second round in a tie for 23rd place at 1-over 145, while fellow junior Clayton Rotz wrapped up the day in a tie for 57th place at 5-over 149 and junior Andrew Loupe finished in a tie for 60th place at 6-over 150.
While competing as an individual this weekend, sophomore Josh Jones finds himself on the brink of a top 10 finish after firing a season-low 3-under par 69 in the second round on Saturday. He is currently in a tie for 17th place in the individual standings with a 36-hole score of even-par 144.
After opening the second round with a slim one-stroke lead in the team standings, North Florida extended its advantage to seven strokes over the Auburn Tigers by firing a tournament-low 9-under 279 on the day. The Ospreys are seven shots in front with a two-round total of 12-under 564.
Virginia follows nine strokes back in third place at 3-under 573, while NC State trails in fourth at 1-under 575 and Ole Miss is currently in fifth place overall at 1-over 577.
Leading the way for the 23rd-ranked Ospreys of North Florida is a trio of golfers among the top five of the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s final round. Freshman Kevin Phelan has carded back-to-back scores of 2-under 70 and 6-under 66 for a 36-hole score of 8-under 136. Senior teammate J.C. Horne is second with a two-round total of 6-under 138, while Jordan Gibb is in fifth place at 4-under 140.
The Tigers will play alongside Georgia Southern and Vanderbilt in Sunday’s final round as they are slated to tee off from the first tee beginning at 7 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the final round of the Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online by logging on to www.golfstat.com.
SCHENKEL/E-Z-GO INVITATIONAL – SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORE (Par 576)
1. North Florida 285-279 – 564 -12; 2. Auburn 288-283 – 571 -5; 3. Virginia 286-287 – 573 -3; 4. NC State 289-286 – 575 -1; 5. Ole Miss 287-290 – 577 +1; T6. LSU 291-289 – 580 +4; T6. Alabama 292-288 – 580 +4; 8. Georgia Southern 292-289 – 581 +5; 9. Vanderbilt 291-291 – 582 +6; 10. South Carolina 293-293 – 586 +10; T11. Kentucky 295-293 – 588 +12; T11. North Carolina 300-288 – 588 +12; 13. Tennessee 299-291 – 590 +14; 14. Florida 294-297 – 591 +15; 15. Louisville 296-300 – 596 +20.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Kevin Phelan, North Florida, 70-66 – 136 -8; 2. J.C. Horne, North Florida, 69-69 – 138 -6; T3. Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern, 71-68 – 139 -5*; T3. Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss, 70-69 – 139 -5; 5. Jordan Gibb, North Florida, 70-70 – 140 -4*; T6. Bank Vongvanij, Florida, 69-72 – 141 -3; T6. Hunter Hamrick, Alabama, 73-68 – 141 -3; T6. Kyle Kopsick, Auburn, 72-69 – 141 -3; T6. Will Collins, Virginia, 68-73 – 141 -3; T10. Austin Gutgsell, LSU, 72-70 – 142 -2; T10. Hudson Johnson, Vanderbilt, 72-70 – 142 -2; T10. Cole Moreland, Auburn, 71-71 – 142 -2.
LSU SCORES
T10. Austin Gutgsell, 72-70 – 142 -2
T17. Josh Jones, 75-69 – 144 E*
T23. John Peterson, 72-73 – 145 +1
T38. Sang Yi, 75-72 – 147 +3
T57. Clayton Rotz, 75-74 – 149 +5
T60. Andrew Loupe, 72-78 – 150 +6