SEA ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team shot a 35-over par 315 in the first round at the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championship on Friday to end the day in 12th place overall.
The Tigers, who battled brutal weather conditions which delayed first-round action for more than three hours, were led by senior John Humphries’ 1-over par 71 Friday. Humphries is currently tied for eighth place. The Alexandria, La., native tied for eighth at the SEC Championship last season in Sea Island, firing a six-over par 216.
Georgia leads the field after 18 holes, shooting an 8-over par 288 on Friday. Tennessee is one stroke behind Georgia at 9-over 289, while defending champion Auburn is in third place at 11-over 291. Florida is fourth at 12-over 292, and Alabama is fifth at 13-over 293. Georgia’s Kevin Kisner and Florida’s Brett Stegmaier are tied for the individual lead after each shot a 3-under par 67 in round one.
Sophomore Heath West, who tied for fifth at the SEC’s last season, is tied for 44th place after shooting a 9-over 79 Friday. Sophomore Tucker Ervin was one of three Tiger golfers making their debut at the SEC Championship this weekend, and the Mt. Pleasant, S.C. native shot a 10-over par 80 and is tied for 48th. Freshman Aaron Smith is in 59th place after shooting a 15-over 85 in his SEC debut. David Aitchison, a native of Scotland, shot a 16-over 86 in his first SEC Championship appearance and is currently in 60th place.
“We did not have a particularly good day today and that is disappointing, but we just need to come out tomorrow and try to shoot some low numbers and try to move up the board,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones.
LSU is paired with Ole Miss and Mississippi State and will tee off at 8 a.m. on Saturday to begin second-round action. Georgia, Tennessee, and Auburn will tee off beginning at 11:20 a.m. in the last group of the second round.
TEAM SCORES (Par 280)
1. Georgia 288 +8; 2. Tennessee 289 +9; 3. Auburn 291 +11; 4. Florida 292 +12; 5. Alabama 293 +13; 6. South Carolina 298 +18; 7. Arkansas 299 +19; 8. Vanderbilt 302 +22; 9. Kentucky 303 +23; 10. Ole Miss 304 +24; 11. Mississippi State 313 +33; 12. LSU 315 +35
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS (Par 70)
t1. Kevin Kisner, Georgia, 67 -3; t1. Brett Stegmaier, Florida, 67 -3; 3. Will Claxton, Auburn, 68 -2; 4. David Denham, Georgia, 69 -1; t5. Mark Donnell, Vanderbilt, 70 E; t5. Eirik Johansen, South Carolina, 70 E; t5. Lee Williams, Auburn, 70 E
LSU SCORES
t8. John Humphries 71 +1
t44. Heath West 79 +9
t48. Tucker Ervin 80 +10
59. Aaron Smith 85 +15
60. David Aitchison 86 +16