The LSU Golf Classic found No. 14 Tennessee’s and No. 5 LSU’s women’s golf squads neck-and-neck for three straight rounds before the Lady Volunteers emerged victorious in the final holes.
The Lady Tigers finished in second place Sunday with a team score of 18-over-par 882 after holding first place for the first two days. Tennessee bested LSU by two strokes in the final holes of the tournament, earning a 16-over-par 880.
Freshman Madelene Sagstrom said she was satisfied with the results of the competition despite coming up short of first place.
“I’m happy for our team,” Sagstrom said. “We did everything we could, but in the end, we just got beaten by a team who played better than us.”
Three of the five starters for the Lady Tigers garnered top-10 spots on the individual leaderboard for the weekend, with Sagstrom leading the pack.
Sagstrom finished in third place with an even-par 216, and sophomore Austin Ernst earned fourth-place honors with a 2-over-par 218 three-day total. Senior Tessa Teachman was among a four-way tie for tenth with an 8-over-par.
Senior Jacqueline Hedwall kept pace with the rest of the team, placing No. 18 with an 11-over-par 227. Sophomore Lindsay Gahm completed the five-player roster, landing just out of the top 20 with a 13-over-par.
Sagstrom said she was happy with her and the rest of the team’s overall performance, but weather conditions and parts of the course at the University Club proved to be a challenge.
“We played well, but the wind and the greens made it hard,” Sagstrom said. “The greens were very hard to read, so I had a hard time sinking the putts once I got it up there.”
Sagstrom said Tennessee, on the other hand, was dominating the short game.
Junior Lady Vol Erica Popson posted seven birdies in the final round of competition, lifting her two strokes ahead of Sagstrom and into a tie for first place.
The first round of the competition Friday found LSU in a favorable position, thanks to Sagstrom’s one-under-par 71 performance, nabbing her the second-place spot on the individual leaderboard.
Teachman and Ernst tied for seventh in the first round with a one-over-par 73. Their scores, combined with Sagstrom’s, allowed the Lady Tigers to pull ahead for first place on the day, with Tennessee three strokes behind in second.
The Lady Volunteers improved on their first-round score Saturday, managing to tie LSU with a two-day, 11-over-par 587. Sagstrom also jumped up on the leaderboard, moving to first with a 2-under-par.
Ernst ended the second round in sixth place, while Teachman and Hedwall rounded out the top 20 for the Lady Tigers, finishing No. 14 and No. 18, respectively.
While LSU didn’t finish exactly where they wanted to, Sagstrom said playing at home and facing a good level of competition made it worthwhile.
“It’s a lot of fun having the support of a home crowd,” she said. “I also feel like this was a good setup for learning about the teams we will face in the SEC championship.”
Besides Tennessee, other SEC competitors included No. 6 Vanderbilt, who placed No. 4 overall, and Kentucky, who came in at No. 8.
The Lady Tigers now have a short hiatus before returning to action March 30 in Tempe, Ariz., for the PING/Arizona State Invitational.
 
 
—-
Contact Morgan Wampold at [email protected].