SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a 6-over par 286 on Saturday at the 2002 Southeastern Conference Men’s Golf Championship to finish the day tied for second place with Florida heading into final-round action on Sunday at the Sea Island Golf Club.
The Tigers, in search of their first SEC championship since 1987, are 11 strokes behind leader Auburn heading into the final round of play on Sunday. LSU is at 18-over par 578 for the tournament. Tennessee and Georgia, the defending champion, are fourth and fifth after two rounds. The Tigers were fourth after Friday’s play after shooting a 12-over 292.
True freshman Heath West led the way for LSU on Saturday, shooting the day’s second-lowest scores, a 2-under 68. West is currently tied for sixth place at 2-over 142 with two others. West began the day slowly, as he bogeyed the first two holes after finishing Friday’s round with five straight bogeys, but recovered nicely to sit just five shots behind individual leader Jay Mundy of Auburn.
“Heath started the day off a lot like he ended yesterday (Friday), and then I started walking with him from No. 3 on out, and he really picked it up and finished strong,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones. “Heath then made some great shots and hit some greens and had a really good round overall.”
Junior John Humphries is tied for 12th place after shooting a 1-over 71 on Saturday. He shot a 73 in round one on Friday. Junior Garrett Prather is tied for 14th place after posting a second-round 4-over 74. Senior Nathan Goulding shot a 3-over 73 in round two to place in a tie for 20th place at 7-over 147. Jason Horrell is tied for 32nd place at 10-over 150 after a 4-over 74 on Saturday.
Mundy is atop the individual leader board at 3-under 137, while Florida’s Camilo Villegas is just one shot back at 2-under 138. Mundy fired a 3-under 67 on Saturday, the low round of the day. Auburn’s Will Claxton and Georgia’s Ryan Hybl are tied for third at even-par 140. Vanderbilt’s Mark Donnell is fifth at 1-over 141.
“I think despite the fact that we are 11 shots back we are still in a good position,” said Jones. “That is quite a few strokes to make up, but we can do it. We cannot watch the score board though, we just need to go out there and play and see what happens. We need to make some putts and hit some greens and do our best.”
The Tigers will tee off in the last group of the day on Sunday, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and are paired with Auburn and Florida. LSU finished eighth a year ago at the championships, also held at Sea Island.
Sea Island Golf Club- Seaside Course- par 70, 6,849 yds.
TEAM SCORES (par 280)
1. Auburn 285-282 — 567 +7; t2. LSU 292-286 — 578 +18; t2. Florida 284-294 — 578 +18; 4. Tennessee 296-285 — 581 +21; 5. Georgia 298-284 — 582 +22; 6. Vanderbilt 294-291 — 585 +25; 7. Arkansas 290-299 — 589 +29; 8. South Carolina 302-289 — 591 +31; 9. Alabama 305-289 — 594 +34; 10. Ole Miss 298-300 — 598 +38; 11. Kentucky 296-303 — 599 +39; 12. Mississippi State 306-301 — 607 +47
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (par 140)
1. Jay Mundy, Auburn, 70-67 — 137 -3; 2. Camilo Villegas, Florida, 68-70 — 138 -2; t3. Will Claxton, Auburn, 72-68 — 140 E; t3. Ryan Hybl, Georgia, 71-69 — 140 E; 5. Mark Donnell, Vanderbilt, 71-70 — 141 +1; t6. Camilo Benedetti, Florida, 70-72 — 142 +2; t6. Andrew Pratt, Tennessee, 73-69 — 142 +2; t6. Heath West, LSU, 74-68 — 142 +2; t9. Clint Provost, Alabama, 75-68 — 143 +3; t9. Martin Rominger, South Carolina, 72-71 — 143 +3; t9. Lee Williams, Auburn, 71-72 — 143 +3
LSU SCORES
t6. Heath West 74-68 — 142 +2
t12. John Humphries 73-71 — 144 +4
t14. Garrett Prather 71-74 — 145 +5
t20. Nathan Goulding 74-73 — 147 +7
t32. Jason Horrell 76-74 — 150 +10