PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – For the third-straight year, the No. 7-ranked LSU men’s golf program finds itself in the hunt for the team title at the John Hayt Invitational as the Tigers wrapped up Monday’s second round at Sawgrass Country Club in a three-way tie for second place at 8-over par 584.
The Tigers have enjoyed great success at the John Hayt Invitational in recent years after winning the team championship in 2009 and earning a runner-up finish in 2010.
After following a 4-under 284 in the first round with a 12-over 300 in the second round, LSU will head to the final round on Tuesday with a seven-shot deficit as Auburn leads the way with a 36-hole score of 1-over 577. The Tigers are tied with SEC rivals Arkansas and Tennessee at 8-over 584 in the championship, while Central Florida and TCU round out the top five in a tie for fifth place at 10-over 586.
Senior Andrew Loupe led the way for the Tigers on Monday after firing a team-low even-par 72, vaulting 25 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 16th place overall for the championship. Loupe, who carded an opening round 2-over 74, enters the final round with a cumulative total of 2-over 146 through two rounds.
Seniors Ken Looper and John Peterson have posted matching 36-hole scores of 1-over par 145 as they are on the verge of a pair of top-10 finishes in the event. Looper followed a 2-under 70 in the opening round with a 3-over 75 in the second round, while Peterson has carded rounds of 5-under 67 and 6-over 78.
Junior Austin Gutgsell is currently in a tie for 36th place at 6-over 150, including back-to-back 3-over 75s, and freshman Andrew Presley follows in a tie for 58th place at 10-over 154.
Arkansas’ Sebastian Cappelen, Florida’s Phillip Choi and Auburn’s Blayne Barber are three shots clear of the rest of the field as they will enter the final round in a three-way tie for the top spot on the leaderboard with identical scores of 5-under par 139. Ole Miss’ Joe David and Jonathan Randolph, Tennessee’s Robin Wingardh and Auburn’s Michael Hebert follow in a tie for fourth place at 2-under 142.
The Tigers will compete in the final wave in Tuesday’s final round as they are paired with SEC West foes Auburn and Arkansas and will tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring of the final round will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
JOHN HAYT INVITATIONAL – SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Auburn 282-295 – 577 +1; T2. LSU 284-300 – 584 +8; T2. Arkansas 285-299 – 584 +8; T2. Tennessee 289-295 – 584 +8; T5. Central Florida 289-297 – 586 +10; T5. TCU 282-304 – 586 +10; 7. Florida 286-304 – 590 +14; 8. Ole Miss 293-300 – 593 +17; T9. Mercer 294-303 – 597 +21; T9. Coastal Carolina 287-310 – 597 +21; 11. Tulsa 290-308 – 598 +22; 12. North Florida 292-309 – 601 +25; 13. Georgia Southern 292-311 – 603 +27; 14. Jacksonville 307-297 – 604 +28; 15. UAB 297-312 – 609 +33.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUAL (Par 144)
T1. Phillip Choi, Florida, 68-71 – 139 -5; T1. Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas, 69-70 – 139 -5; T1. Blayne Barber, Auburn, 68-71 – 139 -5; T4. Robin Wingardh, Tennessee, 68-74 – 142 -2; T4. Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss, 73-69 – 142 -2; T4. Joe David, Ole Miss, 70-72 – 142 -2; T4. Michael Hebert, Auburn, 69-73 – 142 -2; T8. Thomas Sutton, UAB, 68-75 – 143 -1; T8. Connor Arendell, Central Florida, 68-75 – 143 -1; T8. Scott Roudebush, TCU, 70-73 – 143 -1.
LSU SCORES
T12. Ken Looper, 70-75 – 145 +1
T12. John Peterson, 67-78 – 145 +1
T16. Andrew Loupe, 74-72 – 146 +2
T36. Austin Gutgsell, 75-75 – 150 +6
T58. Andrew Presley, 73-81 – 154 +10