The LSU men’s golf team placed 12th in a field of 15 at last weekend’s Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.
Although the Tigers had their second-lowest round of the season Sunday, it was not enough to place them in the top 10 after a slow start in Saturday’s two rounds.
“As a team we got off to a pretty bad start the first two rounds and dug ourself in a hole,” said senior golfer John Humphries. “You can’t do that against the quality field that was there.”
LSU finished tied for thirteenth Saturday as it shot 8-over par in the first round and 9-over par in the second, giving them a 17-over par 593 when Saturday’s play was done.
Humphries led the Tigers on Sunday by shooting a 4-under par 68. The team finished Sunday’s round 1-under par, their best round since a 6-under par performance at the Louisiana Classics Intercollegiate earlier in the season.
“The last round was a step forward for us,” Humphries said.
The 23rd annual Schenkel Invitational field of 15 included 10 teams listed in the Golfweek top 25 poll, including No. 1 Clemson.
“This was a very tough field here this weekend, especially when you consider we finished only three strokes behind Augusta State, who is ranked fourth in the country,” said head coach Greg Jones.
Humphries finished tied for sixth place at the invitational. It is his fourth top 10 finish in the last five tournaments and his seventh top 20 finish of the season.
Unless the Tigers qualify for the NCAAs, Humphries last match as an LSU Tiger will be the team’s next tournament, the Southeastern Conference Championships April 25-27 in Sea Island, Ga.
“It’s kind of hard to believe it’s already here,” Humphries said. “It went by a little faster than I thought it would.”
Humphries plans on joining the professional ranks and attending the Professional Golf Association Qualifying school in the fall.
He said his five years at LSU made him a better golfer and will help him as pursues his professional career.
“Each year I’ve gotten a little better,” Humphries said. “It’s just a matter of working as hard as you can and not wasting any opportunity.”
He also believes the LSU men’s golf program has good years ahead due to Jones’ recruiting efforts.
“I think they are in pretty good shape,” Humphries said. “They will be a real solid team.”