BRYAN, Texas – Junior Zach Wright wrapped up Saturday’s action in seventh place and sophomore Eric Ricard followed in a tie for 10th place on the individual leaderboard to lead the No. 6-ranked LSU Tigers on the opening day of competition at Texas A&M’s Aggie Invitational in their regular-season finale being held this weekend at Traditions Golf Club.
Wright took the first-round lead with an opening score of 3-under par 69 in the morning before posting a 4-over par 76 in the afternoon to finish the day in seventh place with a two-round total of 1-over par 145. Ricard carded back-to-back rounds of 2-over 74 on Saturday to wrap up the first day in a tie for 10th place at 4-over 148.
Their efforts helped lead the Tigers into fifth place in the 13th team field, posting team scores of 9-over 297 in the first round and 10-over 298 in the second round for 19-over par 595 on the afternoon.
The defending co-team champions of the tournament following their victory at the Aggie Invitational a season ago, the Tigers will tee off in Sunday’s final round five strokes off the pace set by the trio of No. 16-ranked Oklahoma, No. 41-ranked Texas A&M and New Mexico State that finished the day in a tie for the lead at 14-over 590. No. 32 Arkansas ended the day in fourth place at 15-over 591.
The Tigers and Aggies tied for the team title in their regular-season finale last spring after wrapping up the 2014 tournament with their matching scores of 35-over par 899 over 54 holes at Traditions Golf Club.
Wright held a three-shot lead on the leaderboard as the only player in the field to break par in the first round, carding six birdies and three bogeys for an opening 3-under 69 on the weekend. He dipped into red figures with birdies at the par-five fifth, par-three 11th, par-four 13th, par-five 15th, par-three 16th and par-four 17th holes; while also carding bogeys at the par-four sixth, 14th and 18th holes for a round of 69 in the morning.
After ending the day with a round of 4-over 76 in the afternoon, Wright has positioned himself for a second top-10 finish this spring after opening 2015 tying for 10th place at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in February.
Ricard leads the team with four top-10 finishes in eight previous starts on the season, and is now poised for a fifth top-10 finish in nine tournaments after recording consecutive rounds of 2-over 74 on Saturday. Posting a two-round total of 4-over par 148, Ricard cracked the Top 10 of the leaderboard in a tie for 10th place with 18 holes to play at Traditions Golf Club.
Senior All-American Ben Taylor and sophomore standout Brandon Pierce ended the day tied with one another for 34th place in the individual standings with matching scores of 9-over par 153 in the opener. Pierce had a counting score of 3-over 75 in the morning with a 6-over 78 in the afternoon, while Taylor bounced back from an 8-over 80 in the first round with a team-low 1-over par 73 in the second round on Saturday.
Senior All-American Stewart Jolly followed his 7-over par 79 in the morning round with a 3-over par 75 in the afternoon to wrap up Saturday’s action in a tie for 38th place overall at 10-over par 154 for the event.
Texas A&M’s Ben Crancer fired the round of the day with a 6-under 66 in the second round to bounce back from an opening 3-over 75 to finish the day with a one-shot lead on the leaderboard at 3-over 141 in 36 holes. Following a three-way tie for second place at 2-under 142 are California’s K.K. Limbhaust, Oklahoma’s Michael Gellerman and New Mexico State’s Pat Beyhan.
The Tigers are paired with Arkansas and Texas Tech in Sunday’s final round as they are scheduled to tee off from the first hole beginning at 8 a.m. CT. Golfstat will provide the live scoring of the final round of this year’s Aggie Invitational as fans can follow the Tigers in action by logging on to http://www.golfstat.com.
AGGIE INVITATIONAL – SECOND ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 576)
T1. Texas A&M 303-287 – 590 +14; T1. Oklahoma 302-288 – 590 +14; T1. New Mexico State 301-289 – 590 +14; 4. Arkansas 298-293 – 591 +15; 5. LSU 297-298 – 595 +19; 6. Texas Tech 308-291 – 599 +23; 7. California 307-297 – 604 +28; 8. North Texas 311-296 – 607 +31; 9. Kent State 314-297 – 611 +35; 10. Texas-San Antonio 315 -300 – 615 +39; 11. Michigan 318-302 – 620 +44; 12. Bowling Green 312-326 – 638 +62; 13. Princeton 336-321 – 657 +81.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 144)
1. Ben Crancer, Texas A&M, 75-66 – 141 -3; T2. K.K. Limbhaust, California, 73-69 – 142 -2; T2. Michael Gellerman, Oklahoma, 74-68 – 142 -2; T2. Pat Beyhan, New Mexico State, 72-70 – 142 -2; 5. Wes Artac, Texas Tech, 73-70 – 143 -1; 6. Kolton Crawford, Arkansas, 72-72 – 144 E; 7. Zach Wright, LSU, 69-76 – 145 +1; T8. Kyle Mueller, Michigan, 74-73 – 147 +3; T8. Taylor Moore, Arkansas, 76-71 – 147 +3; T10. Eric Ricard, LSU, 74-74 – 148 +4; T10. J.J. Lindsey, Texas-San Antonio, 77-71 – 148 +4; T10. Adria Arnaus, Texas A&M, 73-75 – 148 +4; T10. Clement Sordet, Texas Tech, 77-71 – 148 +4; T10. Kenneth Fadke, New Mexico State, 75-73 – 148 +4.
LSU SCORES
7. Zach Wright, 69-76 – 145 +1
T10. Eric Ricard, 74-74 – 148 +4
T34. Brandon Pierce, 75-78 – 153 +9
T34. Ben Taylor, 80-73 – 153 +9
T38. Stewart Jolly, 79-75 – 154 +10