LSU junior golfer Brandon Pierce suffered a neck injury diving into a lake near his apartment complex this offseason and is almost ready to return to the course.
Pierce’s injury came after he helped the Tigers win their first national championship since 1955. He was a key component in the championship run going 2-0-1 in match play.
However, this is not the first time Pierce dealt with injuries. In spring 2014, he suffered a lower back injury , which sidelined him for seven months and kept him from hitting full-power shots until November 2014.
The injury was an early blow to LSU because Pierce was the highest ranked returning golfer. He ended last season as Golfstat’s No. 23 golfer in the nation and was selected as a Golfweek third-team All-American.
The Covington, Louisiana, native said his rehabilitation is going well, and although he wants to play in the Tigers’ home event, he said he does not expect to be back to full strength until the start of November.
“I’ve almost got my full range of motion back,” Pierce said. “Definitely feeling good, there’s no more pain, really.”
The lineup will stay young for LSU’s next tournament, the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Sept. 25, but Pierce said he hopes to return for the David Toms Intercollegiate, the Tigers lone home event, on Oct. 10.
In his absence, Pierce said there is no need to motivate the younger golfers as they already motivate themselves.
“You really don’t have to motivate these guys. We love LSU and love to play,” Pierce said. “They have [motivation] already. I don’t need to tell them anything.”
Without Pierce, the No. 2 Tigers placed fourth in the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic with a lineup including sophomore Blake Caldwell and freshmen Sam Burns and Luis Gagne. Although the team did not win the event, the young golfers succeeded in the eyes of coach Chuck Winstead.
Burns’ collegiate debut could not have gone better, opening with a first round score of 69 to give the Shreveport product a share of second place. He cooled off in the final two rounds, shooting 78 and 76, respectively, earning him a top-20 finish.
Caldwell’s fortunes were a bit reversed. He was slow out of the gate, shooting an opening round 79, but finished the final two rounds with a career-low 71 in the second round and 73 on the final day, which also earned him a top-20 finish.
Luis Gagne’s collegiate debut was lackluster compared to Burns’ outing, but remained solid overall. He shot 78 in the first round, 75 in the second round and 76 to finish out the tournament.
“[The young players] did great,” Winstead said. “We were playing young guys, and [the team] mixed and matched scores and we ended up OK.”