After not playing for the entirety of winter, LSU’s women’s golf team went to the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida on Sunday to tee off the spring portion of play and shake off some winter’s ice.
Before the team sent off its players to continue the season, it was time to look in the rearview mirror at the season prior to this game. Who on the team stands out right now, and who could emerge?
The story of LSU women’s golf cannot be told without Ingrid Lindblad, who ranks second in the World Amateurs Golf Rankings. She looks to continue her streak of dominance within the program, as she is one of two juniors at LSU listed in the top-40 in the WAGR alongside Latanna Stone, who ranks 38th.
Of course, the team’s strengths go beyond Lindblad’s dominance. Carla Tejedo Mulet performed well during the fall season, and the aforementioned Stone won two amateur events between semesters. Stone won the Dixie Amateur and Orlando International Amateur between the season break.
The team has already shown potential. At the Illini Women’s Invitational, the team shot its lowest total with great combined performances from Lindblad, Tejedo Mulet and freshman Elsa Svensson, as all three had their lowest rounds this year during the tournament.
The team followed that event with a win at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, where Lindblad won her fifth individual goal title in a playoff win over teammate Tejedo Mulet.
On Sunday, the No. 22 Tigers faced a loaded group; including No. 3 South Carolina, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 ranked Alabama, No. 15 Baylor, No. 17 Auburn and No. 19 Duke. Despite the challenge, the team looks forward to beginning the season tied for fifth, six strokes off the lead heading into Monday’s second round.
“I’m super excited to get the season started,” Lindblad said in a LSU press release. “We’ve put some great work in during the winter, both individually and as a team.”
Lindblad, Stone, Tejedo Mulet, Svensson and another freshman, Jessica Bailey, expect to make up the lineup for the opening event of the spring.
What does this all mean, though? If previous results mean anything, LSU’s women’s golf team has some potential that it hasn’t yet reached. Even beyond Lindblad, players such as Stone and Tejedo Mulet becoming competitive in amateur competitions bode well for the team’s future results.
Additionally, true freshmen such as Svensson and Lauren Clark saw action during the fall. Hopefully, those two now feel more prepared to take on tougher competition.
This opening tournament represents an important point in LSU’s season. This group faces some talented teams. However, it spent the fall and the winter adjusting to the college game and showing their talents in individual amateur tournaments.
The spring represents a tougher, more competitive time in the season. After the Moon Golf Invitational, the team heads to the Darius Rucker Invitational in South Carolina, where the Head Coach Garrett Runion said “the field may be stronger than national championship” for that event.
Of course, that challenge is nothing new. According to Runion, the team had the fifth-toughest ranked schedule in the fall and according to him, the spring schedule looks potentially even stronger. Runion said he would not want it any other way.
“I want my team to be tough because once you get to the SEC Championship, Regionals and NCAA Championship you have to have that competitive toughness to accomplish the things they want to accomplish,” Runion said.
