The LSU men’s golf team will travel to Awendaw, S.C., for this weekend’s Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate tournament at Bulls Bay Golf Course, intending to build upon its recently solid play.The Tigers, No. 28 in the Golfweek/Sagarin collegiate rankings, will enter the tournament with four consecutive top-10 finishes in their last four tournaments.The Tigers will face stiff competition in South Carolina as 12 of the 15 teams participating in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate are currently ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin collegiate rankings.LSU coach Chuck Winstead said he isn’t worried about where his team finishes on the leaderboard.”We all want to win each event; that’s just part of being competitive,” Winstead said. “But the main thing in the process is seeing some development, seeing each one of them improve. If we continue to do that then the finishes will take care of themselves.”Winstead also said the combination of that mindset and the team’s daily effort in practice has led to the Tigers’ recent success in competition.”If anyone evaluated the effort our guys put in, it doesn’t fluctuate. It’s consistent,” Winstead said. “And I think consistent effort tends to yield some pretty good results.”Sophomores Austin Gutgsell and Sang Yi, and juniors Andrew Loupe and John Peterson will participate in the team event this weekend. Sophomore Josh Jones will also enter in the individual competition.Gutgsell, a Mandeville native, has been a big part of the Tigers’ recent success. Gutgsell has finished in the top-25 individual standings in each of his last three tournaments, including a fifth-place finish at the John Hayt Invitational earlier this month.Winstead said Gutgsell has gained a new sense of comfort and confidence through his experience on the golf course this season.”He’s always been the type of guy that has the talent for those types of finishes,” Winstead said. “Now with some collegiate experience, he’s starting to see those kinds of finishes and expects those kinds of finishes from himself.”Winstead also said Peterson is improving his driving and his ability to reach greens in regulation, slowly regaining the form that made him a PING Second-Team All American in 2009.”I think you’re going to continue to see that consistent play out of John as the year goes on because he’s simplified his approach and gotten back to just being himself,” Winstead said. “He doesn’t have to go out and make birdies at every hole to have a good round.”Last year the Tigers finished sixth in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, shooting a 1-under par 851. Winstead said the tournament will be different for his team this year because only two golfers, Loupe and Peterson, have prior experience playing at Bulls Bay.Winstead also said playing on a new course is a necessary challenge for all of his golfers.”When you go to NCAA regionals, you typically have to play a course no one has seen before,” Winstead said. “That’s something three of our guys will have to do this weekend.” ——Contact Cory Boudreaux at [email protected]