For the second straight week the LSU women’s golf team will be playing under unusual circumstances.
This past weekend at the Auburn Derby Classic the Lady Tigers battled over three inches of rain Friday en route to a No. 5 finish.
LSU coach Karen Bahnsen said the rain changed how the course was played.
“The course actually came together and dried up pretty well,” she said. “It obviously played much longer than we expected.”
Junior Rebecca Kuhn led the Lady Tigers in the tournament with a No. 4 finish, posting a 3-over-par 147.
This weekend LSU plays in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship in Orlando, Fla.
Bahnsen said her team will be playing under abnormal conditions again, even though the weather is not expected to be an issue.
“This is a match play tournament, which is a totally different, unique kind of format,” Bahnsen said. “We actually played a little bit of this competition the week before Auburn, and we’re pretty excited about it.”
LSU opens play today at 6:30 a.m. against Wake Forest University.
The No. 12-ranked Demon Deacons come into the event having placed in the top 10 in all three events they have played in.
Senior Mandy Goins leads Wake Forest into the event, following a No. 2 finish this past weekend at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, NC.
Bahnsen said the two teams’ records indicate this will be a very competitive match.
“They have a very solid team,” she said. “Basically from looking at all of their stats, I think we match up pretty well.”
Depending on the Lady Tigers’ result this morning, they will face either Vanderbilt University or Southern Methodist University in an afternoon match.
“Every team that we’re playing against and that is in our bracket in this tournament is very good teams,” Bahnsen said.
Adding to the uniqueness of this weekend is LSU’s unfamiliarity with Mission Inn Golf and Country Club.
“We don’t know anything about it,” she said. “This is a new golf course, and I’ve never played it before.”
—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]