By Lohan Sutton
Tennessee men’s golf came out firing in their first spring tournament to earn a third-place finish in Puerto Rico.
This week, the No. 18 Volunteers kicked off the Puerto Rico Classic against a strong field and some wet tropical conditions. Out of the gate, it was No. 1 Virginia that took charge with a first-round team score of 22-under-par.
Ohio State also matched the strong play early with a 21-under-par opening round.
Despite the huge lead set by Virginia, Tennessee hung around with a 12-under-round to start. All five players in the starting lineup finished under par after round one.
A bogey-free opening round of 67 by senior Lance Simpson led the Volunteer team. Luke Smith also got in the mix early with an opening round of 68. This opening performance left the Volunteers tied for fourth at the conclusion of round one.
Virginia cooled off in round two, finishing 13-under-par on the day to put them at 35-under-par. Tennessee cut into the lead with a 14-under-par second round to put them just nine shots off the lead.
Volunteer senior Josh Hill made a huge jump up the individual leaderboard with a second-round score of 66. This was highlighted by a 29, 7-under-par, on the back nine.
Simpson continued his great play with a 68 in round two, making his only bogey of the tournament. Jackson Herrington had his lowest round of the tournament in round two, coming in with a 3-under-par.
Virginia found their magic again in round three, closing the tournament with a 20-under-par day. This grew their tournament total to a staggering 55-under-par. The team had three players finish tied for second at 15-under-par: Josh Duangmanee, Ben James, and Bryan Lee.
With the lead out of reach, the Volunteers battled with No.2 LSU for the second spot. Going into the third round, Tennessee was just four shots behind the Tigers. LSU carded their worst team round of the week, just shooting 7-under-par in round three. Despite the chase from the Volunteers, who carded a 10-under-par round, LSU was able to hang on by one stroke.
Simpson closed the tournament with a final round of 67 to put him tied for fifth place at 14-under-par.
Hill had a quiet finish to the tournament with just one birdie and one bogey in the final round. He was still able to hang on and finished tied for 23rd.
Herrington and freshman Luke Smith closed their tournament with final rounds of 71, and both finished tied for 29th.
Tournament Leaderboard:
1 Virginia, -55
2 LSU, -37
3 Tennessee, -36
4 Oklahoma, -33
5 South Carolina, -31
Despite the runaway victory by Virginia, the Volunteers showed they can battle with the best programs in the country.
Squaring off against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country is a challenge Tennessee normally won’t face, and it shows the team how good they must be to be an NCAA Championship-caliber squad.
The top 3 finish here, along with their win earlier this season at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, will give Tennessee lots of value heading into NCAA Regionals with four tournaments to go until postseason action.
The Volunteers also had four players finish inside the top 30 in the tournament.
Tennessee Leaderboard:
T5 Lance Simpson, -14
T23 Josh Hill, -7
T29 Jackson Herrington, -6
T29 Luke Smith, -6
T48 Bruce Murphy (IND), -2
T60 Reed Lotter, E
With the first spring tournament in the books, Tennessee will prep for the Cabo Collegiate. The tournament will be held March 2-4 at Twin Dolphin Club in Los Cabos, Mexico.