BATON ROUGE, LA (May 15, 2017)--Sam Burns opened with a seven-under 65 to lead the LSU Tigers to a 12-under par round of 276 and a six shot lead after the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regional at The University Club.
Playing on their home course, the Tigers had four par-or-better rounds, with Eric Ricard shooting 68 to go along with Brandon Pierce at 71, Luis Gagne at 72, and Philip Barbaree with a 75.
Burns currently sits #3 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Amateur Rankings.
Sitting in second, six shots back at six-under 282, are the Virginia Cavaliers, led by Danny Walker with a 67.
The defending national champion Oregon Ducks are in good position after a one-under 287 which puts them in third place.
Duke is another four shots back at 291, followed by Kentucky at 292 and Jacksonville at 294.
Cooper Musselman of Kentucky and Edwin Yi of Oregon are tied for third individually at 68, one shot behind Walker and three behind Burns.
The low five teams and the low individual not on a qualifying team will qualify for the NCAA Championship, to be held at Rich Harvest Farms in Elk Grove, IL, May 26-31.