LSU wins John Hayt Collegiate, UNF 11th

Tuesday, February 24

Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

All Day

University of North Florida

John Hayt Collegiate Invitational

Joe Byun shot a 74 Tuesday.

2/24/2009 5:13:48 PM | Men's Golf

Horne, Aylwin finish T24

By: Shawn LaFata

Tournament Home Page

Live Scoring

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – LSU and Arizona State took turns trading the lead at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational before a late rally by the Tigers gave LSU its first ever title at Sawgrass Country Club.

LSU's John Peterson made it a clean sweep for the Tigers with a round of 70 to capture individual medalist honors and his first ever collegiate title. Peterson edged out Coastal Carolina's Zack Byrd and Alabama's Hunter Hamrick, who each finished at even par for the tournament.

Host UNF fell back two spots in the final standings after shooting a team score of 307 Tuesday and an overall score of 919 (+55). After a couple days of struggles, UNF's Joe Byun shot 74 to lead the Ospreys. Byun had a birdie on each nine to go along with a double bogey on the front and two bogeys on his back nine. Byun was 18-over-par for the tournament and finished alone in 59^th place.

J.C. Horne and Jordan Gibb each shot 77 for the Ospreys to follow Byun. Horne recorded a tie for 24^th, while Gibb tied for 60^th. Jeff Dennis shot 80 to tie for 48^th, six spots ahead of Chris Kennedy who shot a 79.

Kevin Aylwin – playing as an individual – tied Horne for UNF's best finish, shooting 73 Tuesday to tie for 24^th. Major Forbess, also competing as an individual, finished tied for 44^th after shooting a 77.

Peterson overtook teammate Andrew Loupe, along with three others to claim the top spot in the tournament. He enjoyed a stretch of seven holes (5-11) in which he made six birdies and a par that more than made up for the double bogey he made on the second hole. Despite that stretch, Peterson said he was the most pleased with a bogey save he had on the 16^th hole that helped preserve his lead. His 70 tied him for the low round of the day with three others.

That performance by Peterson helped the Tigers secure a team score of 885 (+21) for the tournament and 294 (+6) for the day. Tennessee was the biggest mover on the day with a score of 291 to jump into a fifth-place finish. Georgia State was right behind the Volunteers with a 293.

The win for LSU was the first for the team in its 14 appearances at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational. Besides UNF, that is the most appearances by a team in the history of the event.

UNF will take a little time off before returning to the course March 20-22 at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational.

Quotable

LSU Sophomore John Peterson (Tournament medalist)

I knew anywhere around par would be a good score and if I could sneak in a couple of birdies that would get it done. I played well on holes seven through 12 and that was the difference for me today.

Arizona State head coach Randy Lein

This is a great test of golf and you really have to be on top of your game here. I am proud of my guys but we just couldn't pull it out today.

LSU head coach Chuck Winstead

We missed this tournament last year. We aren't gong to do that again. I am proud of our guys. You are going to make bogeys and double bogeys on this golf course. It's what you do after that and whether or not you can keep your composure that makes all the difference.

UNF head coach Scott Schroeder

We did the same thing today that we did the first two days. We played well on the front nine and didn't play well on the back. We are going to take a few days off and focus on school, then hopefully play a little better toward the end of March. Nobody played their best this week. We will go back and work hard, that's all you can do. We have dealt with a lot of adversity and hopefully we can turn it around between now and the conference tournament.

UNF sophomore Joe Byun

I didn't get off to the start I wanted this week but was able to put together a better round today. I guess it was all in my head. I got some help from former UNF golfer John Limanti. He told me just to stay committed to my shots. It just took a small adjustment. I will just keep working and keep trying hard.

Team Scores

1. LSU (885)

2. Arizona State (893)

3. Georgia Southern (895)

4. Georgia State (900)

5. Tennessee (901)

6. UAB (905)

7. Alabama (907)

8. TCU (909)

9. Coastal Carolina (910)

10. UNC Wilmington (918)

11. UNF (919)