The LSU men’s golf team is riding a hot streak into this weekend’s Schenkel/E-Z Go Invitational in Statesboro, Ga., at the Forest Heights Country Club.
The Tigers are coming off a pair of standout performances that show the team is on the brink of showing off the talent that had them labeled as the preseason No. 12 team.The Tigers have been on fire since their final round at the Gator Invitational, their first tournament of the spring. LSU has shot a combined score of 22-over par in their last seven rounds.The solid play has led to a runner-up finish and a first-place finish in the Tigers’ last two events, and included an individual championship by junior Andrew Loupe in last week’s Louisiana Classics tournament. Loupe was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for his efforts.The resurgence of sophomores Sang Yi and Austin Gutgsell has been a lynchpin of the Tigers’ recent success. Before the John Hayt Invitational on March 1, the duo hadn’t recorded a top-25 finish between them this season.But Yi and Gutgsell have each recorded top-25 finishes in each of the last two tournaments, and their results have shown with the Tigers’ recent success.The Tigers will be challenged as six of the 19 teams competing in the tournament are ranked in the top 30 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, including SEC foes Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.The 6,910-yard, par 72 Forest Heights Country Club played host to the 2009 Schenkel/E-Z Go Invitational, where the Tigers finished in a tie for 12th in the 18-team field.The Tigers had nearly a month off last season before competing in the Schenkel/E-Z Go Invitational, and were coming off a victory at the 2009 John Hayt Invitational.——Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]