ROCKY FACE, Ga. – An opening round 1-under par 71 by sophomore Franco Castro helped pace the No. 17-ranked LSU men’s golf team on the first day of action at the 23rd Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic as the Tigers wrapped up Friday’s first round in eighth place at The Farm Golf Club.
The Tigers posted a team score of 6-over par 294 in their opening round of the new campaign to finish the day in sole possession of eighth place on the team leaderboard.
Georgia Tech was one of three teams to break par on Friday as the Yellow Jackets fired a 2-under par 286 to take a one-shot lead over Chattanooga and Clemson in second place with matching scores of 1-under 287. Georgia follows in fourth place in the team standings after opening with a 1-over par 289 in Friday’s opening, while Auburn rounds out the top five with its 2-over 290 in the first round.
Castro actually tied his career-low with his performance as he carded three birdies and two bogeys for the day to finish the first round of the 2011-12 season in a tie for 10th place on the leaderboard.
After trading shots with a birdie on the par-five second and par-four third holes, Castro entered red figures again with birdies at the par-three fifth and par-five 12th holes to drop to 2-under for the afternoon. He fell back to 1-under with a bogey at the par-four 14th hole en route to a 1-under 71 on his round.
Castro finds himself in a four-way tie for 10th place on the leaderboard and three shots off the pace for the race for the individual title following the first round. Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger opened with a 4-under par 68 to take a one-shot lead over Georgia’s Michael Cromie and Georgia Tech’s Drew Czuchry with the first round in the books. Six golfers round out the top five in a tie for fourth place at 2-under 70.
Tiger senior Sang Yi is also off to a fast start in the new campaign after opening this year’s Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic with an even-par round of 72 at The Farm Golf Club. Yi is on the cusp of the Top 10 of the leaderboard in a tie for 14th place overall following his performance in the first round.
Sophomore Smylie Kaufman posted a 2-over 74 to finish the day in a tie for 27th place, while freshman Curtis Thompson carded a 5-over 77 to tie for 47th place and sophomore Andrew Presley shot a 7-over 79 to tie for 54th place following the opening round of championship.
The Tigers are paired with Auburn and Tennessee for the second day in a row as they are set to tee off for Saturday’s second round on the back nine beginning at 9 a.m. CDT.
2011 CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE CLASSIC – FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 288)
1. Georgia Tech 286 -2; T2. Chattanooga 287 -1; T2. Clemson 287 -1; 4. Georgia 289 +1; 5. Auburn 290 +2; 6. Alabama 291 +3; 7. Tennessee 293 +5; 8. LSU 294 +6; 9. South Carolina 295 +7; 10. Middle Tennessee State 297 +9; 11. Wake Forest 298 +10; 12. Kennesaw State 301 +13.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 72)
1. Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga, 68 -4; T2. Michael Cromie, Georgia, 69 -3; T2. Drew Czuchry, Georgia Tech, 69 -3; T4. McCuen Elmore, Clemson, 70 -2; T4. Hunter Green, Middle Tennessee State, 70 -2; T4. Will McCurdy, Auburn, 70 -2; T4. Corbin Mills, Clemson, 70 -2; T4. Caulder Moore, South Carolina, 70 -2; T4. Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech, 70 -2; T10. Franco Castro, LSU, 71 -1; T10. Jacob Burger, Clemson, 71 -1; T10. Tom Lovelady, Alabama, 71 -1; T10. Justin Thomas, Alabama, 71 -1.
LSU SCORES
T10. Franco Castro, 71 -1
T14. Sang Yi, 72 E
T27. Smylie Kaufman, 74 +2
T47. Curtis Thompson, 77 +5
T54. Andrew Presley, 79 +7