After playing in the United States Amateur Golf Championship, LSU junior Beck Troutman is ready to continue his success on the LSU men’s golf team.
“The US Amateur is the biggest event I ever played in, and I felt successful,” Troutman said. “Being successful in that golf tournament takes a burden off of you. It makes me think that if I can play with those guys, I can play with anybody. I just want to take that mind-set with me in the new season.”
Troutman advanced to the match play round of the 106th United States Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Aug. 22 thanks to rounds of 69 and 73 in the stroke play round of the event.
LSU golf coach Chuck Winstead said Troutman’s performance in stroke play proved he could play against some of the best players at his level.
“Anytime you can play in the US Amateur, you can play with the best amateurs in the world,” Winstead said.
In the two days of stroke play, Troutman had most of his success on Hazeltine’s par 4s, shooting 5-under on the 21 par 4s he played.
Troutman said his short game helped him shoot well in stroke play.
“If I got in any trouble, I was able to rely on my short game,” he said. “If I hit a bad shot, I felt like I could get back where I needed to.”
Troutman said he was pleased with how he played but wished he could have been more consistent.
“The rounds were up and down,” he said. “I had a lot of bogeys and a lot of birdies.”
In the first round of match play, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Jonathan Hodge defeated Troutman.
Troutman said he felt he was playing well, but Hodge was the better player on that day.
“This guy was playing real solid,” he said. “He was 3-under after eight holes at Hazeltine. If I had to guess, I’d say maybe only two other players did that all week.”
Despite losing in the first round, Winstead said Troutman gained confidence playing in the championship.
“Anytime you get to tee it up at a great event with some of the best players, it gives you more of a sense of belonging,” he said.
Troutman said he was proud of where he finished because of the large number of participants in the event.
“There were over 7,500 entries into that tournament and only 312 qualified to stroke play,” he said. “So to be in the top 64 of that many people, I felt real good about that even though I wanted to make it further.”
Last season as a sophomore, Troutman won several awards, including Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week and 2006 LSWA First-Team All-Louisiana.
Winstead said he is proud of Troutman’s accomplishments as an amateur, but he believes Troutman’s best golf has come in college events.
“This is probably the best he’s done at an amateur level,” Winstead said. “But he’s probably played equal to that or better at some of our college events last year.”
Winstead said Troutman is one of several Tigers being relied upon to be a leader this season.
“He’s matured,” he said. “He’ll be going into his third year. People respect his playing ability and the way he goes about his work.”
Troutman led the Tigers last season with three top-10 finishes and was one of two Tigers to participate in all 11 of LSU’s tournaments.
Winstead said he is looking forward to seeing Troutman play this season.
“Since he’s been back this fall, his play has been very solid,” he said. “He’s working hard and is in position to have a very good year.”
Winstead said he believes Troutman can become a professional if he continues to improve his game.
“If his goal is the PGA Tour, he knows he needs to step it up,” he said. “He just needs to keep improving to maintain playing at a high level.”
—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]