The LSU men’s golf team got off to a fast start to begin its spring season when it notched a second-place finish at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Alabama.
The Tigers were led by a trio who finished tied for fifth. Juniors Andrew Presley and Smylie Kaufman and sophomore Stewart Jolly each shot 1-over 217 for the week.
“It is a good place to start the semester,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead after the second-place finish. “We got off to a slow start on the first nine holes, but played very solid golf after that.”
The next week, LSU finished in a tie for fourth at the John Hayt Invitational in Florida, shooting a combined score of 11-over 587. Sophomore Curtis Thompson paced LSU for the week, finishing in a tie for 12th at even-par 144.
In the following two weeks, LSU finished second in back-to-back tournaments held in Louisiana. The Tigers shot 10-over 874 at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette and 1-under 863 at the Argent Financial Classic in Choudrant.
“I think the entire team played pretty well,” Winstead said after the Argent Classic. “There is still room for growth, and we could have scored a little lower, but overall it was a good effort.”
Freshman Zach Wright won the Louisiana Classics by three strokes with a score of 7-under 209, while Jolly was the next-highest finishing Tiger with a tie for 12th.
Presley finished second at the Argent Classic with a score of 8-under 208, finishing one stroke behind North Texas senior Rodolfo Cazaubon after entering the final round with a lead.
“Cazaubon played really well,” Winstead said. “Andrew got off to a slower start today and that allowed the other guy to erase the deficit. I didn’t think Andrew played bad, he just gave away a couple strokes he shouldn’t have.”
A week and a half later, the Tigers traveled to South Carolina to play in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, where Presley notched his second consecutive top-10 finish, a tie for seventh, and paced LSU to a fifth-place finish.
The Tigers would struggle in each of their last two tournaments.
LSU played finished its regular season with an eighth-place finish at the Aggie Invitational after shooting 14-over 878 for the three rounds. Thompson finished tied for sixth overall, posting a 3-under 213 for the week.
The next week, the Tigers finished 11th out of 14 at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Georgia, shooting 41-over 881.
The Tigers still have two postseason tournaments on the schedule, the NCAA Regional on May 16 and the NCAA Championships on May 27.
