The No. 12 LSU men’s golf team will look to build on a strong start to the spring season when it begins play at the John Hayt Invitational on Sunday in Florida.
The Tigers finished second on Tuesday in the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Alabama, their first tournament of the spring season.
“I felt like we had a good week,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead. “We started a little slow, but in general everyone had a pretty solid week.”
The invitational will be three rounds at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla., and will conclude on Tuesday. The Tigers played in this tournament last season, finishing eighth in a 15-team field.
“We have had success there before,” Winstead said. “It is a good course that is narrow and normally the wind is blowing making it a very good test.”
Winstead said the Tigers will use the same lineup as the last tournament: juniors Andrew Presley and Smylie Kaufman along with sophomores Stewart Jolly, Curtis Thompson and Myles Lewis.
Presley, Kaufman and Thompson all played in the invitational last season. Presley finished 27th overall at 7-over 223 for the tournament while Kaufman shot 11-over and Thompson posted 14-over.
The tournament is being hosted by the University of North Florida.
The LSU women’s golf team will start its spring season in New Orleans on Sunday at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate.
Tulane University will host the tournament at English Turn Country Club. The Lady Tigers did not play in the tournament last season, but LSU coach Karen Bahnsen said her players are familiar with the course.
“English Turn is a great place to start the season,” Bahnsen said. “We have gotten to play there a couple times and the course is in great shape. We’re all really looking forward to it.”
Bahnsen said her lineup will consist of juniors Lindsay Gahm and Ali Lucas, sophomore Madelene Sagstrom and freshmen Elise Bradley and Nadine Dreher.
The 18-team field will include Southeastern Conference opponents Auburn, Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M as well as the defending champions from Duke.
