LSU freshman golfer Sang Yi has led the No. 17 Tigers to LSU men’s coach Chuck Winstead’s most successful season during his four-year tenure in Baton Rouge.He has enjoyed a stellar freshman campaign with four top-10 finishes — tied for most on the team — and ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference among freshmen with a 73.6 average.But the coaching staff can thank fellow freshman golfer Josh Jones’ parents, Dave and Lisa, for even getting the opportunity to coach Yi.Yi first met Josh Jones and his parents at a tournament when the youngsters were 9 years old.”Over the years we kept seeing each other at tournaments, and then I found out I lived five minutes from him,” Josh Jones said.And the rest was history.Yi was born in South Korea but moved to Carrollton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with his parents when he was 10 months old.Yi’s parents don’t speak English, which posed a barrier when it came time for him to look for colleges.The Joneses took Yi underneath their wing and made sure he was given the resources to make the best college choice.”We’ve kind of been that second family for him — in no way replacing what he really has — but [we] kind of just guide and direct him,” Lisa Jones said.Yi said if it weren’t for the Joneses, he wouldn’t be wearing an LSU uniform now.He and Josh Jones had previous arrangements to play golf at the same college no matter what. So when Josh Jones called Yi and told him he was taking a visit to LSU in the fall 2007, Yi thought he was crazy.”I wanted to commit [to LSU] in the car with coach Winstead,” Josh Jones said. “I called Sang up and was like ‘Hey, dude, we’re going to a different school. You’re going to come to LSU, and I’m going there too,’ and he goes, ‘No we’re not. Shut up,’ and hung up the phone.”Yi didn’t consider LSU until the “last moment,” but it was Winstead’s personality that won him over. “I liked coach. I liked the kind of person he was, and I liked the way he did things around here,” he said. “When he says something, he means it, and that was really important.”Winstead raved about the type of person Yi is and his eagerness to learn.”Not only do you have to have the talent level, but you’ve got to have something inside of you that makes you want to come out and hit balls at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning when other people are doing other things,” he said. “And he has that.” Winstead also said his determination to make his players better and not let them slack off was one reason Yi came to LSU.”Sang carries a desire to achieve everything he possibly can on a day-to-day basis … That’s the one thing I like most about him,” he said.Lisa Jones said Yi has created a special bond with Winstead in the short time they have been together. “We’ve gotten a lot of joy out of his relationship with coach Winstead because out of all the kids, I think Sang is real special to Chuck because he keeps him laughing,” she said.Yi received his U.S. citizenship on March 30 in Baton Rouge.He said it was something his parents, both of whom aren’t citizens, had pushed since he was 15.”Once I became 18, they felt it was really important to go after it and get citizenship,” he said. “It was a real, real special opportunity.”Yi said he misses his parents like any college student, but Jones has helped ease the transition.”Josh is like my brother I never had,” he said. “We’re very close to each other.”Winstead, Josh Jones and his mother all agreed on one of Sang’s attributes that sticks out most — his mental toughness.”The second round, he shot 82, and he played terrible, but he was the most excited guy in the clubhouse because we were leading the tournament,” Jones said. “The next day he came out and shot a 73 and helped us win the tournament.”Lisa Jones continues to be impressed with Yi’s confidence. “He doesn’t see obstacles — he sees his possibilities,” she said.——Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]