The LSU men’s golf team used a big day from senior Andrew Loupe and clutch play on the last three holes to capture the team title at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate tournament.
The No. 11 Tigers entered Tuesday two shots back of No. 6 Augusta State — which ended the second round on a birdie binge — but the Tigers grabbed the edge early in the final round.
The teams wrestled for the lead throughout a tense back nine before several late miscues by the Jaguars and steady play from LSU down the stretch sealed a narrow one-shot victory for the Tigers, who shot a team score of 3-under-par 849.
“When it’s close like that and you’ve got a shot here or there with five guys spread over four or so holes, you’ve got to focus on your game,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead. “Sometimes it just works out and you end up on the right side of things.”
Loupe improved by one shot each day, culminating with Tuesday’s final round 3-under 68 that propelled him into a playoff before he fell to North Carolina State’s Mitchell Sutton on the first playoff hole to finish in second place.
The win is the first of the spring for the men’s team, which hasn’t finished worse than fourth this spring but hadn’t been able to claim a team title since winning twice in the fall.
“The guys have been really consistent this spring, and every event has been against some great competition,” Winstead said. “They’ve played in the last wave of every tournament with a chance to win. … If the shoe had been on the other foot today and we had lost by one shot, they still had a great week.”
Junior Sang Yi played one of his best rounds of the year Tuesday, as he managed a 1-under 70 to finish in 17th place and help the Tigers maintain their spot near the lead late in the day.
Senior John Peterson continued to be the Tigers’ steadying presence at Bulls Bay. The All-American turned in a final round 1-over 72 to finish in a tie for seventh with a 54-hole score of 2-under 211.
The Tigers return home with momentum and will host the LSU Invitational this weekend at the renovated University Club.
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]