The No. 23 LSU men’s golf team tees off today at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. for the Southeastern Conference Tournamen,t in hopes of bringing a SEC title back to Baton Rouge for the first time since 1987.
The road for the Tigers to raise the trophy at the end of the weekend won’t be easy. The SEC is considered one of the premier golfing conferences in the nation, boasting some of the highest ranked teams and individuals.
No. 1 Alabama, which is looking for its third SEC Championship in a row, features three individuals ranked in the top 15, according to Golfweek.
Alabama is the highest ranked in a field consisting of seven teams in the top 25, not including LSU. Three of those teams, Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 10 Texas A&M, rank in the top 10.
Georgia finished ninth in last year’s tournament and brings to the tournament the No. 1 collegiate golfer in Joey Garber.
The talent in the tournament is endless, giving the Tigers a lot to handle over the weekend. But LSU has talent of its own to help make a potential splash.
LSU junior Stewart Jolly is ranked No. 20 in the nation, the highest-ranked player on the LSU squad and the only golfer on the team in the top 50.
Jolly hasn’t played in a tournament since the Aggie Invitational at the beginning of April, climbing from 22 to 20 in the rankings, likely because he was named to the USA’s Palmer Cup squad.
The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top collegiate players from America and Europe, with both teams featuring 10 players.
The selection for Jolly adds to his potential All-American résumé for the season, making him a player to watch this weekend. Jolly is a certain second or third team All-American, and he has a slight chance of sneaking into the first team with a flawless tournament over the weekend.
The tournament tees off at 6:30 a.m. on all three days, with the final round being played Sunday.