ROCKY FACE, Ga. – Senior standout Sang Yi closed out the 23rd-annual Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic with a 2-under par 70 in Sunday’s final round to match his best career tournament finish by tying for third place on the leaderboard with his 54-hole score of 5-under par 211 at The Farm Golf Club.
Yi’s performance helped the Tigers earn an eighth-place finish in the final team standings as No. 17 LSU posted an even-par 288 in the final round for a final score of 9-over 873 in its 2011-12 season opener.
After opening with rounds of even-par 72 on Friday and 3-under 69 on Saturday, Yi fired a 2-under 70 on Sunday afternoon to match his best career finish that he previously set during the 2010 spring season at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate during his sophomore season. His tournament score of 5-under par 211 this weekend came up just shot short of his career-low in relation to par for 54 holes.
Yi played a near flawless round to lead the Tigers on Sunday as he carded three birdies and just one single bogey while finishing with a team-leading 2-under par 70.
A native of Carrollton, Texas, Yi actually made the turn at 1-over par for his round following a bogey for the par-five ninth hole. But Yi quickly turned his fortunes around on the back nine while making his three birdies in a five-hole stretch at the par-five 12th, par-five 15th and par-four 16th holes.
The Tigers were also paced in Sunday’s finale by freshman Curtis Thompson after matching his effort for Saturday with an even-par 72. Thompson, who also opened the tournament with a 5-over 77 on Friday, finished in 32nd place in his collegiate debut with a 54-hole score of 5-over par 221 at The Farm.
A freshman from Coral Springs, Fla., Thompson is off to a fast start in his collegiate career after inking at LSU as one of the Top 20 recruits in the country for the Class of 2011.
Two Tigers fired matching rounds of 1-over par 73 on Sunday, as sophomores Franco Castro and Andrew Presley posted counting scores for LSU as part of its even-par 288. Castro nearly earned his first career top-20 finish while posting his best career finish as he tied for 21st place with his total at 2-over 218 while Presley finished in a tie for 50th place in the individual standings at 12-over 228 for the championship.
Also finishing in a tie for 50th place along with Presley was fellow sophomore Smylie Kaufman, who shot a 3-over 75 in the final round for his three-round score of 12-over par 288 in LSU’s season opener.
Auburn maintained its five-stroke lead entering the final round to take this year’s team championship with the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic with a winning score of 13-under par 851, including a 6-under 282 in the final round. Tennessee finished five shots back in second place overall at 8-under 856.
It was Alabama freshman Justin Thomas taking the individual crown following a tournament-low 7-under par 65 in the final round. Thomas fired a 10-under par 206 in three round this weekend for a comfortable four-shot victory over the 6-under 210 by Chattanooga’s Benjamin Weilguni. Yi followed in his four-way tie for third place and five shots off the pace in the final individual standings.
Following its season opener this weekend the Tigers will return to action in one month from Oct. 10-11 at the 2011 Jack Nicklaus Invitational being held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE CLASSIC – FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Auburn 290-279-282 – 851 -13; 2. Tennessee 293-281-282 – 856 -8; 3. Georgia Tech 286-297-274 – 857 -7; 4. Alabama 291-284-287 – 862 -2; 5. Clemson 287-287-289 – 863 -1; 6. Chattanooga 287-287-290 – 864 E; 7. Georgia 289-293-290 – 872 +8; 8. LSU 294-291-288 – 873 +9; 9. Kennesaw State 301-288-290 – 879 +15; 10. Wake Forest 298-291-298 – 887 +23; T11. South Carolina 295-295-300 – 890 +26; T11. Middle Tennessee State 297-298-295 – 890 +26.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. Justin Thomas, Alabama, 71-70-65 – 206 -10; 2. Benjamin Weilguni, Chattanooga, 72-67-71 – 210 -6; T3. Sang Yi, LSU, 72-69-70 – 211 -5; T3. Bryden Macpherson, Georgia, 72-67-72 – 211 -5; T3. Garrick Porteous, Tennessee, 72-68-71 – 211 -5; T3. Anders Albertson, Georgia Tech, 74-70-67 – 211 -5; 7. Jay Vandeventer, Tennessee, 73-69-70 – 212 -4; T8. McCuen Elmore, Clemson, 70-71-72 – 213 -3; T8. Dominic Bozzelli, Auburn, 74-70-69 – 213 -3; T8. Will McCurdy, Auburn, 70-72-71 – 213 -3.
LSU SCORES
T3. Sang Yi, 72-69-70 – 211 -5
T21. Franco Castro, 71-74-73 – 218 +2
32. Curtis Thompson, 77-72-72 – 221 +5
T50. Smylie Kaufman, 74-79-75 – 228 +12
T50. Andrew Presley, 79-76-73 – 228 +12