The LSU men’s golf team opened the Hootie at Bulls Bay Invitational on Sunday in a tie for second place at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, S.C., and sits just one stroke off the lead after a stormy first round.
The No. 9 Tigers’ defense of its 2010 Bulls Bay title got off to a shaky start early in the round as the team struggled on the front nine because of early tee times and blustery conditions.
But, with storm clouds hovering above the course, LSU rallied to post a 3-under-par 281 team score and waited as later groups stumbled to the finish to move up the leaderboard.
Senior All-American John Peterson was again the Tigers’ top performer, leading the team with a 3-under-par 68. Peterson bogied his first hole of the tournament before carding four birdies and no bogeys the rest of the round to finish in a tie for fourth, just one shot off the individual lead.
Freshman Andrew Presley continued his impressive rookie campaign by using an improbable eagle 2 on the par-4 eighth hole — he drove the green on the hole — and 14 pars to card a 1-under-par 70 to end the day in a tie for 10th place.
Senior All-American Andrew Loupe bounced back from a string of early bogeys with three consecutive birdies to spur a back-nine score of 32 and post a 1-under-par 70 and place in a tie for 10th.
Junior Sang Yi began the first round strong with an even-par front-nine 36 but couldn’t maintain the steady play on the back nine, as he posted three bogeys on the way to a 2-over-par back nine and 18-hole total.
The invitational features one of the best fields LSU will face in the regular season, as 10 of Golfweek’s Top 50 teams in the country, including Southeastern Conference rivals No. 11 Auburn and No. 3 Florida, are participating this week.
The second round gets underway this morning with the Tigers in the thick of contention.
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]