TACOMA, Wash. – Senior All-American and All-SEC performer John Peterson led a team record six LSU Tigers in the United States Amateur Championship being held this week by tying for 65th place with the stroke play competition held Monday and Tuesday at Chambers Bay.
Peterson, who competed in the match play tournament in his first U.S. Amateur appearance last year, just missed qualifying for the second year in a row by firing a 6-over par 149 for two rounds.
After opening with a 4-over 76 at the par-72 layout at The Home Course in nearby DuPont, Peterson fired a 2-over 73 at the par-71 course at Chambers Bay to finish in a 16-way tie for 58th place after 36 holes. He then battled 15 other golfers for the final six qualifying spots into the match play competition, which only included the top 64 finishers in the 312-man field competing in the stroke play tournament.
Peterson officially finished the 110th edition of the U.S. Amateur Championship in a tie for 65th place with his performance as he was unable to advance to match play.
Incoming freshman Andrew Presley was LSU’s next best finisher as he tied for 108th place in his first spot in the nation’s most prestigious amateur championship with rounds of 7-over 78 at Chambers Bay and 2-over 74 at The Home Course for a 36-hole score of 9-over par 149.
Fellow freshman Franco Castro tied for 155th place at 12-over 155, while junior Sang Yi finished in 196th-place tie at 14-over 157, senior Clayton Rotz finished in a tie for 212th place at 15-over 158 and graduated senior Brent Blaum finished in a tie for 287th place at 22-over par 165.
With school now in session, the players will now return to Baton Rouge and start preparing for the start of the 2010-11 season, which begins Sept. 12-13 with a trip to Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata, Minn., to compete in the Gopher Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota. The Tigers brought home team championship honors in its last appearance at the Gopher Invitational in 2008.