Three months after winning its first national championship since 1955, the LSU men’s golf team received the No. 2-overall ranking in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Preseason Poll.
This ranking is the highest the Tigers have been this millennium, but coach Chuck Winstead said the ranking is irrelevant.
“[The ran“[How well the team does] is based on your play not what people think you’re going to play like,” Winstead said. “We’re going to work hard and see how we do.”
Although they ranked second overall, the Tigers received 12 of the 21 first-place votes and ranked five points behind top-ranked Illinois. Texas, Florida State and Southern California round out the top five.
Winstead said the ranking should not add any pressure to the season and the goal is to simply “have fun and improve everyday.”
Zach Wright, LSU’s lone senior, reflected his coach’s mentality and said the season will come down to hard work and earning their place on the course.
“Even though we are ranked No. 2, we still have to go out and prove ourselves,” Wright said. “Just because we are ranked [second], we aren’t given anything.”
The men’s golf program has taken huge strides in recent years. In 2013, they finished tied for 23rd in the final rankings but reached the NCAA semifinals in 2014 before winning the national championship in match play, 4-1, against USC this past year.
Junior Eric Ricard attributes the recent success to the team’s work ethic and camaraderie.
“We work so hard everyday, and our practices are harder and longer than other teams,” Ricard said. “We are really close knit as a team. We all get along really well, and I think that contributes to our success.”
Another key component in the Tigers’ national title defense will be the freshmen players. LSU had the nation’s top recruiting class headlined by the No. 1 overall recruit and 2014 Rolex Junior Player of the Year Sam Burns.
Joining Burns are fellow freshmen Nathan Jeansonne and Luis Gagne. The class strengthens the team’s depth this season and provides an avenue for future success.
Winstead praised his new players and expects them to make a quick change for the Tigers.
“[The freshmen] had great junior golf careers,” Winstead said. “They are excited to get in the lineup and play, and we are excited to have them. I think they’ll contribute right out of the gate, and I think they’ll play well.”
The Tigers open the season Friday at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Georgia, with a field featuring seven top-25 teams, including LSU.