Good Day For LSU Golf -- Noah McWilliams Leads La. Amateur; Arni Sveinsson Wins Two Matches At Palmer Cup
Noah McWilliams Leads The Louisiana Amateur after two rounds at 12-under par.
BATON ROUGE – Noah McWilliams, who recently finished his sophomore season at LSU with the men’s golf team, has the lead after two rounds of the 106th Louisiana Golf Association state amateur tournament played on the South Course at Bayou Oaks at City Park in New Orleans.
Also, LSU freshman Arni Sveinsson, playing for the International squad in the Arnold Palmer Cup had a good day helping the International team get the overall scoring lead going to the final day of singles on Saturday.
McWilliams, from Benton, Louisiana, has had two solid rounds in the 72-hole event being played on the par 72, 7,000-yard layout with rounds of 68-64 for a two-day total of 12-under par 132.
His second round was highlighted by consecutive birdies on the par 3, 200-yard 2nd hole, the 577-yard par 5 3rd hole, the par 4, 400-yard 4th holes, the 432-yard 5th hole and the 365-yard par 4 sixth hole as he shot 5-under on holes 1-9.
Over two days, he is 8-under par on the first nine holes of the course.
He holds a 1-shot lead over Kyle Bennett of Zachary and Landen East of Sulphur at 11-under par 133.
Former state amateur champion Luke Haskew of LSU and Baton Rouge, easily advanced to the final two rounds and is T9 in the competition at 5-under par with rounds of 68-71 for his 139. Haskew was the winner in 2021 at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant.
Another Tiger, Dylan Kayne, from South Africa, who completed his freshman season, will also make the cut at 1-under par 143 after rounds of 72-71.
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The International squad had a good second round of the Arnold Palmer Cup at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina after starting the day with a 6.5-5.5 lead over the Americans.
The Internationals won 8.5 of 12 matches, including a 2&1 win by Sveinsson, who had one of the top freshman seasons at LSU, teaming with Michael Mjaaseth of Arizona State. The pair defeated the American Auburn duo of Carson Bacha and Jackson Koivun, 2&1.
The Sveinsson-Mjaaseth, playing the foursomes rule of alternate shot, posted 2-over on their first nine, holes 10-18 but only trailed 1 Down entering holes 1-9. The team recorded five birdies and an eagle over the final seven holes to come from 2 Down after 10 holes to a cinching 2UP on the eighth hole for the point.
In the afternoon mixed foursomes, an interesting setup as Sveinsson was teamed with NCAA individual champion Maria Jose Marin of Arkansas to take on Adam Duncan of Colorado Christian and Kendall Todd, Marin’s Arkansas teammate.
The Sveinsson/Marin team never trailed in the match, going 2 UP after two holes with a par and a birdie on holes 1 and 2. Holding a 1 UP lead through 15 holes, the International team went par-birdie on the 16th and 17th holes, while the USA team went double bogey-double bogey to give the Sveinsson/Marin team a 3&1 victory.
After 36 matches in the competition, the International team is leading, 20-16. Saturday will feature 24 singles matches, with the International team needing 10.5 points to win the Cup. The USA team will need victories that total to 14.5 points to keep the Cup for a third straight year.
Live scoring for the Louisiana Amateur can be found at the Louisiana Golf Association home page online while live scoring for the Arnold Palmer Cup is at Golfstat.com.