ROCKY FACE, Ga. – Senior standout Sang Yi fired a 3-under par 69 in Saturday’s second round to catapult himself into the top five of the leaderboard and lead the No. 17-ranked LSU men’s golf team into eighth place overall at the 23rd-annual Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic held at The Farm Golf Club.
Freshman Curtis Thompson also rebounded with his best round of the weekend with an even-par 72 as the Tigers posted a team score of 3-over par 291 on Saturday for a 36-hole score of 9-over 585.
Yi nearly equaled the lowest round of his collegiate career on Saturday as he followed his even-par 72 in the first round with a 3-under 69 in the second round to vault nine spots on the individual leaderboard in a five-way tie for fifth place at 3-under 141 for the championship. Yi teed off in Saturday’s round in a tie at 14th place overall following his even-par 72 during Friday’s season-opening round.
Yi has an opportunity to earn his best career finish as an LSU Tiger which is currently a tie for third place at the 2010 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate during his sophomore season.
Yi finds himself just two shots off the pace for the individual crown as Georgia’s Bryden Macpherson and Chattanooga’s Benjamin Weilguni fired matching 5-under par 67s on Saturday to take over the top spot in a tie for first place overall at 5-under 139 for the events. First-round leader Stephan Jaeger of Chattanooga fell one shot back into a tie for third place while shooting even-par 72 in the second round.
After teeing off Saturday in a tie for 10th place, LSU sophomore Franco Castro followed his 1-under 71 in the first round with a 2-over par 74 in the second round to remain in the Top 20 on the leaderboard in a tie for 18th place at 1-over par 145. Castro is poised for his first career top-20 finish as an LSU Tiger.
Thompson’s even-par 72 moved him well up the leaderboard into a tie for 35th place at 5-over par 149. He kicked off his collegiate career with a 5-over 77 in Friday’s opening round.
Sophomore Smylie Kaufman posted a 7-over par 79 to finish the day in 52nd place at 9-over par 153 while fellow sophomore Andrew Presley carded a 4-over 76 to tie for 53rd place at 11-over 155.
The Auburn Tigers fired the lowest team round through the first 36 holes with their 9-under par 279 in the second round to take a commanding five-shot lead over Chattanooga, Clemson and Tennessee in the team standings. Auburn teed off Saturday in fifth place in the team standings after opening the tournament at 2-over 290 in the first round. The three teams in a tie for second place have fired matching 36-hole scores of 2-under par 574. Defending champion Alabama is six shots back in fifth place at 1-under par 575.
The Tigers are paired with Auburn and Tennessee for the third-straight round in Sunday’s finale as are set to tee off in the first wave on the front nine beginning at 8 a.m. CDT. Live scoring of the final round for the event will be provided by Golfstat and can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
2011 CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE CLASSIC – SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Auburn 290-279 – 569 -7; T2. Chattanooga 287-287 – 574 -2; T2. Clemson 287-287 – 574 -2; T2. Tennessee 293-281 – 574 -2; 5. Alabama 291-284 – 575 -1; 6. Georgia 289-293 – 582 +6; 7. Georgia Tech 286-297 – 583 +7; 8. LSU 294-291 – 585 +9; T9. Kennesaw State 301-288 – 589 +13; T9. Wake Forest 298-291 – 589 +13; 11. South Carolina 295-295 – 590 +14; 12. Middle Tennessee State 297-298 – 595 +19.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
T1. Benjamin Weilguni, Chattanooga, 72-67 – 139 -5; T1. Bryden Macpherson, Georgia, 72-67 – 139 -5; T3. Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga, 68-72 – 140 -4; T3. Garrick Porteous, Tennessee, 72-68 – 140 -4; T5. McCuen Elmore, Clemson, 70-71 – 141 -3; T5. Justin Thomas, Alabama, 71-70 – 141 -3; T5. Jacob Burger, Clemson, 71-70 –141 -3; T5. Niclas Carlsson, Auburn, 74-67 – 141 -3; T5. Sang Yi, LSU, 72-69 – 141 -3; T10. Tom Lovelady, Alabama, 71-71 – 142 -2; T10. Jay Vandeventer, Tennessee, 73-69 – 142 -2; T10. Will McCurdy, Auburn, 70-72 – 142 -2.
LSU SCORES
T5. Sang Yi, 72-69 – 142 -3
T18. Franco Castro, 71-74 – 145 +1
T35. Curtis Thompson, 77-72 – 149 +5
52. Smylie Kaufman, 74-79 – 153 +9
T53. Andrew Presley, 79-76 – 155 +11