OPELIKA, Ala. — The 20th ranked LSU men’s golf team shot a final round 14-over par 302 Sunday to finish eighth at the 2001 Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate held at the Saugahatchee Country Club.
The host Auburn won their second Billy Hitchcock title in a row, edging Georgia State by one stroke. Alabama-Birmingham finished third. Southeastern Louisiana and Ole Miss rounded out the top five.
The Tigers finished Saturday’s play in a seventh place tie with South Carolina after shooting a 291. The Tigers shot a 296 in the first round Friday, good for eighth place after one round. The Tigers total of 889 is their second-highest mark of the season. They shot an 890 at the 2001 Schenkel/E-Z-Go Invitational in March. The Tigers did place in the top ten for the eighth time in 11 tournaments this season.
Senior Alan Morgan turned in another great performance at Saugahatchee by firing a final round 72 Sunday to finish second individually behind Georgia State’s Allen Thompson. Morgan shot a 71 in the first round, and a 70 in the second round on Saturday. Morgan has now posted seven top-ten finishes this season. He also has two individual titles to his credit.
Thompson was tied for ninth place after Saturday’s action, four strokes behind UAB’s Payton Osborn. Osborn finished fourth, two strokes behind medalist Thompson, who shot a 69 Sunday. Morgan finished just a stroke behind Thompson.
Nathan Goulding and Garett Prather finished in tie for 39th place. Goulding posted a final round 77, while Parther shot a 75. Craig Taylor finished 42nd, and John Humphries finished 52nd.
The Hithcock was the Tigers last regular season event of the year. The Tigers will next travel to Sea Island, Ga. April 19-22 to participate in the 2001 edition of the SEC Championships. LSU finished fifth in last year’s event held in Killen, Ala.
TEAM SCORES
1. Auburn 285-285-281–851 -13; 2. Georgia State 282-288-282–852 -12; 3. UAB 285-288-293–866 +2; 4. Southeastern La. 290-291-287–868 +4; 5. Ole Miss 288-291-292–871 +7; 6. North Florida 293-291-288–872 +8; 7. South Carolina 287-300-293–880 +16; 8. LSU 296-291-302–889 +25; 9. Florida State 298-305-300–903 +39; 10. Vanderbilt 297-310-301–908 +44; 11. Mississippi State 307-302-303–912 +48; 12. Memphis 300-307-307–914 +50
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Allen Thompson, Georgia State, 71-72-69–212 -4; t2. Alan Morgan, LSU, 71-70-72–213 -3; t2. D.J. Fiese, Georgia State, 70-73-70–213 -3; t4. Graeme McDowell, UAB, 73-70-71–214 -2; t4. Kevin Haefner, Auburn, 69-72-73–214 -2; t4. Andy Smith, S.E. La., 72-73-69–214 -2; t4. Payton Osborn, UAB, 67-72-75–214 -2; t4. Jay Mundy, Auburn, 74-69-71–214 -2
LSU SCORES
t2. Alan Morgan 71-70-72–213 -3
t39. Nathan Goulding 75-73-77–225 +9
t39. Garrett Prather 76-74-75–225 +9
t42. Craig Taylor 74-74-78–226 +10
t52. John Humphries 76-76-78–230 +14