ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Junior All-Americans Brandon Pierce and Eric Ricard wrapped up Friday’s opening round at the 2016 SEC Men’s Golf Championships just one shot outside the Top 10 of the leaderboard with matching scores of 1-over par 71 to lead the Tigers on the first day of competition at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course.
They finished the day in a tie for 17th place overall and five shots off the pace set by first-round leader Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt, who fired a 4-under 66 to take an early two-shot lead in the championship.
The Tigers also counted scores of 5-over 75 by senior All-American Zach Wright and 7-over 77 by freshman standout for a team score of 14-over par 294 as they tied for 11th place in the team standings after the opening day of their SEC-title defense. They were a combined 31-under par in their previous six rounds played at the SEC Championships before Friday’s first round.
The No. 4-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and Kentucky Wildcats were the only teams to break par on the day as they matched one another with scores of 3-under par 277 to grab an eight-shot lead in the title chase for 2016. No. 18-ranked Florida finished the day in third place with an opening score of 5-over par 285 followed by No.7-ranked Vanderbilt and Tennessee in a tie for fourth place at 6-over par 286.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in their title defense after teeing off in the second wave off the front nine at 7:20 a.m. CT as they played alongside 17th-ranked Alabama and 13th-ranked South Carolina.
They were 7-over par collectively among their counting scores in the first three holes of the round with Wright leading the way at even-par in the early stages. Ricard sat 2-over after just three holes with bogeys on the par-four first and par-three third holes, while Pierce was 4-over par as he made bogey at No. 1, double bogey at No. 3 and bogey at the par-four fourth hole.
But their fortunes turned as Pierce played the final 14 holes at 3-under par and Ricard played the final 15 holes of his round at 1-under par. Pierce battled back with birdies at the par-four eighth, par-four 11th, par-three 12th and par-four 18th holes with just one other bogey at the par-four 14th to finish with an opening-round 71. Ricard matched his teammate’s 71 with one of his own after making birdie on the par-four fifth and par-five seventh holes before finishing with just one other bogey at the par-three 17th hole.
While LSU’s leading scorers finished the day in a tie for 17th place overall, Wright tied for 47th place with his round of 75 (+5) and Gagne followed in a tie for 58th place with his score of 77 (+7) in his SEC debut. Also teeing off at the SEC Championships for the first time was fellow freshman Sam Burns, who posted an 8-over 78 as he played the back nine in 1-under par after turning at 9-over par on the front side.
The Tigers are again paired with Alabama and South Carolina in Saturday’s second round as they look to rebound with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. CT in the second wave off the back nine. Fans can follow the Tigers in action as Golfstat will provide live scoring throughout the championship on its scoring website at http://www.golfstat.com.
2016 SEC MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS – FIRST ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 280)
T1. Kentucky 277 -3; T1. Georgia 277 -3; 3. Florida 285 +5; T4. Vanderbilt 286 +6; T4. Tennessee 286 +6; 6. Texas A&M 287 +7; 7. Arkansas 288 +8; 8. Missouri 289 +9; 9. Auburn 291 +11; 10. South Carolina 292 +12; T11. LSU 294 +14; T11. Alabama 294 +14; 13. Ole Miss 301 +21; 14. Mississippi State 304 +24.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 70)
1. Matthias Schwab, Vanderbilt, 66 -4; T2. Zach Healy, Georgia, 68 -2; T2. Matt Gilchrest, Auburn, 68 -2; T2. Lee McCoy, Georgia, 68 -2; T2. Gordon Neale, Florida, 68 -2; T2. Tyler McDaniel, Kentucky, 68 -2; T2. Chandler Phillips, Texas A&M, 68 -2; T8. Greyson Sigg, Georgia, 69 -1; T8. Stephen Stallings, Jr., Kentucky, 69 -1; T10. Will Gordon, Vanderbilt, 70 E; T10. Matthew NeSmith, South Carolina, 70 E; T10. David Snyder, Kentucky, 70 E; T10. Mike Nagy, Tennessee, 70 E; T10. Cooper Musselman, Kentucky, 70 E; T10. Chad Merzbacher, Tennessee, 70 E; T10. Braden Thornberry, Ole Miss, 70 E.
LSU SCORES
T17. Brandon Pierce, 71 +1
T17. Eric Ricard, 71 +1
T47. Zach Wright, 75 +5
T58. Luis Gagne, 77 +7
T61. Sam Burns, 78 +8