DUBLIN, Ohio – After firing the third-lowest team score in the field in Monday’s second round with a 1-over par 289, the LSU men’s golf team wrapped up the first day of competition of the second-annual Jack Nicklaus Invitational at Muirfield Village in a tie for fifth place with a 36-hole score of 12-over 588.
The Tigers cut 10 strokes off their opening-round score of 11-over 299 with a 1-over 289 in the afternoon to finish Monday’s action 14 shots out of the lead held by the homestanding Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State recorded rounds of 2-under 286 and even-par 288 to take a one-stroke lead over Kent State and Texas with a 36-hole score of 2-under par 574. UCLA follows in fourth place with a score of 10-over 586 in two rounds, while the Tigers are tied for fifth place with Illinois at 12-over 588.
As he did in a third-place finish in LSU’s season opener at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic just more than one month ago, senior standout Sang Yi set the pace for the Tigers on Monday while firing rounds of 1-over 72 in the first round and even-par 72 in the second round for his cumulative effort of 1-over 217. It is a score that also finished the day just one shot out of the Top 10 of the individual leaderboard.
Yi is off to a fast start in his senior campaign as he is poised for a second top-10 finish to begin the season in the wake of a junior campaign in 2010-11 in which his season-best finish was a tie for 11th place.
Sophomore Andrew Presley and freshman Curtis Thompson are also among the top 20 of the leaderboard following the first day of competition at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational.
Presley rebounded from a 4-over 76 in the first round with a team-best 2-under 70 in the second round for a 36-hole score of 2-over par 218 to wrap up the day in a tie for 15th place. Thompson follows Presley in a tie for 19th place at 3-over 219 for the championship with rounds of 2-over 74 and 1-over 73 as he is ready to compete for the first top-20 finish of his collegiate career.
In his first career tournament appearance, freshman Myles Lewis recorded rounds of 4-over 76 and 3-over 75 to finish the day in a tie for 34th place at 7-over 151. Sophomore Franco Castro rebounded from his 11-over 83 in the first round with a 2-over 74 in the second round to tie for 49th place at 13-over 157.
Thomas Pieters of Illinois has led the way from the start in the chase for the individual title after firing his scores of 6-under 66 in the first round and 1-under 71 in the second round for a total score of 7-under 137. Texas’ Jordan Spieth and Arkansas’ Ethan Tracy follow two strokes back in a tie for second place overall with matching 36-hole scores of 5-under 139 on Monday afternoon.
The Tigers are paired with Illinois and UCLA in Tuesday’s final round as they will tee off from the front nine beginning at 8:30 a.m. CDT. Golfstat will provide live scoring during the third and final round of the second-annual Jack Nicklaus Invitational, which can be found online at www.golfstat.com.
JACK NICKLAUS INVITATIONAL – SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
1. Ohio State 286-288 – 574 -2; T2. Kent State 291-284 – 575 -1; T2. Texas 299-276 – 575 -1; 4. UCLA 289-297 – 586 +10; T5. LSU 299-289 – 588 +12; T5. Illinois 288-300 – 588 +12; 7. Arkansas 299-291 – 590 +14; 8. TCU 298-299 – 597 +21; 9. Texas Tech 303-296 – 599 +23; 10. Oklahoma State 296-304 – 600 +24; 11. Purdue 305-297 – 602 +26; 12. North Carolina 301-305 – 606 +30.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Thomas Pieters, Illinois, 66-71 – 137 -7; T2. Jordan Spieth, Texas, 73-66 – 139 -5; T2. Ethan Tracy, Arkansas, 71-68 – 139 -5; T4. Julian Brun, TCU, 71-70 – 141 -3; T4. Luke Guthrie, Illinois, 71-70 – 141 -3; T6. Tyler Duncan, Purdue, 72-70 – 142 -2; T6. Alex Redfield, Ohio State, 72-70 – 142 -2; T6. Julio Vegas, Texas, 73-69 – 142 -2; T9. Anton Arboleda, UCLA, 70-74 – 144 E; T9. Mackenzie Hughes, Kent State, 71-73 – 144 E; T9. Taylor Pendrith, Kent State, 75-69 – 144 E; T9. Boo Timko, Ohio State, 72-72 – 144 E.
LSU SCORES
T13. Sang Yi, 73-72 – 145 +1
T15. Andrew Presley, 76-70 – 146 +2
T19. Curtis Thompson, 74-73 – 147 +3
T34. Myles Lewis, 76-75 – 151 +7
T49. Franco Castro, 83-74 – 157 +13