BRADENTON, Fla. – The No. 7-seeded LSU Tigers will join the “Race for the Eight” on Monday after wrapping up Sunday’s third round of stroke play right where they started in a tie for third place in the overall team standings with a total team score of 7-over par 871 at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships being held at Concession Golf Club.
The Tigers had just returned to the clubhouse with their round of 2-over par 290 on the afternoon when play was suspended for the rest of the day as of 5:28 p.m. CT due to lightning on the course.
With nine teams and 13 groups still on the course finishing their third round, tournament officials elected to suspend play for the remainder of the day with the action resuming Monday morning at 6 a.m. CDT. A fourth round of stroke play in the “Race for the Eight” to determine the eight teams advancing to match play will begin no earlier than 9 a.m. CT or 30-45 minutes after any team and individual playoffs. Final-round pairings will be provided at the conclusion of the third round of stroke play on Monday morning.
Each of the 30 teams in the field at this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships are looking to enter the Top 15 of the team standings after 54 holes to earn a spot in the fourth and final round of stroke play to determine the eight-team field advancing to the match-play tournament for the national championship beginning Tuesday.
Golf Channel will air live coverage of Monday’s fourth round with Golf Central Pregame from 10-11:30 a.m. CT followed by coverage of the final round of round of stroke play from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. CT.
The Tigers have assured themselves a place in the Top 15 after wrapping up their third round in a tie for third place with Illinois with a three-day total of 7-over par 871. The Fighting Illini are one of the nine teams yet to complete their third round as they will return to the course at 6 a.m. CT along with first-place Georgia at 1-over par and second-place Southern California at 4-over par for the championship.
After opening with rounds of 4-over 292 on Friday and 1-over par 289 on Saturday, the Tigers are now positioned to qualify for the eight-team match-play tournament for the national championship for the second year in a row after advancing to the national semifinals a season ago. They will advance to match play with a top-eight finish following Monday’s fourth round of stroke play.
Sophomore All-SEC standout Eric Ricard turned in the round of the day for the Tigers with a team-low 4-under 68 as he carded five birdies with one bogey to catapult himself into the Top 10 of the leaderboard.
Ricard was steady early on and made the turn at 2-under par in his round with birdies at the par-three sixth and par-four ninth holes, before dropping to 5-under par on the back nine with three more birdies at the par-four 10th, par-four 15th and par-five 17th holes. A bogey at the par-four 18th proved to be the only blemish on his card as he moved to 2-under par for the championship and into a tie for seventh place.
Ricard’s 4-under 68 on Sunday is the lowest by an LSU Tiger through three rounds at this year’s NCAA Championships after opening with scores of even-par 72 in the first round and 2-over 74 in the second round.
Junior All-SEC performer Zach Wright posted his 1-over par 73 in Sunday’s third round to finish the day as the top Tiger in the field in sole possession of sixth place at 3-under par 213 for 54 holes. Wright teed off Sunday in third place on the leaderboard after opening with back-to-back rounds of 2-under 70 as a catalyst in LSU’s run to the “Race for the Eight.”
Sophomore Brandon Pierce, also a Second-Team All-SEC selection this spring, ended the day on the cusp of the Top 10 of the NCAA Championship leaderboard in a tie for 12th place after matching Wright’s effort with a round of 1-over par 73. Pierce has broken par at 1-under par 215 through three rounds after also opening the tournament with consecutive rounds of 1-under 71 for his efforts.
Senior Ben Taylor added a counting score of 4-over par 76 on Sunday to round out LSU’s 2-over par 290 on the afternoon, finishing the day in a tie for 95th place overall at 13-over par 229. Rounding out the Tigers’ lineup was senior Stewart Jolly, who carded his best round of the weekend with a 5-over 77 to end the day in a tie for 151st place with a three-day total of 25-over par 241 for the championship.
After teeing off Sunday morning with a two shot lead at the top of the leaderboard, SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau saw his lead cut to a single stroke with a round of even-par 72 and 54-hole score of 7-under par 209. The Mustang standout is trailed closely behind by UAB’s Paul Dunne in second place individually with a score of 6-under par 210 through Sunday’s action.