March marks the beginning of spring, and the Tigers are blooming.The No. 28 LSU men’s golf team topped No. 34 Wake Forest to win the three-day, 15-team Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate tournament in Awendaw, S.C.The Tigers continue to blossom in March after winning the Louisiana Classics and finishing second at the John Hayt Invitational earlier in the month.LSU had never finished better than fifth in its five previous appearances at Bulls Bay. The Tigers led after each day and finished the final day at 5-under 279. LSU’s final score of 7-under par 845 edged Wake Forest by a stroke.The Demon Deacons’ blistering 8-under 276 performance on the final day — three shots better than the rest of the field — briefly put them atop the leaderboard.But the Tigers’ late heroics were the difference in the tournament as the Demon Deacons, who finished the day before the Tigers, helplessly watched their lead dwindle.”Time will tell, but we may end up gaining more after leading for two and a half days, giving up the lead, and then having to fight our way back out of it,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead.Junior Andrew Loupe and sophomore Sang Yi had stellar   finishes that led to the Tiger victory.Loupe birdied the 16th and 17th holes after suffering a bogey and a double bogey earlier on the back nine.Loupe started the day strong with an eagle on the second hole and a birdie on the third. He finished the tournament in a tie for 10th on the player leaderboard at 2-under 211, marking his fourth top-10 finish of the season.Yi birdied the 16th hole to end the final day at 1-under 70.The Carrollton, Texas native entered the final day of competition at 5-under par and tied for second place. His three-day score of 6-under 207 put him in a tie for third place on the player leaderboard.”Sang had a tremendous event, and a top 10 from Andrew is really solid,” Winstead said.Sophomore Austin Gutgsell and junior John Peterson both finished the final day at 1-under 70. Peterson parred every hole on the back nine after finishing the front nine at 1-under. He finished the tournament in a tie for 41st, shooting 6-over 219.Gutgsell was 4-under through 13 holes but suffered a bogey on the 14th hole and a triple bogey on the following hole to put him at even par. He bounced back on the 16th hole with a birdie and parred the final two holes.Gutgsell’s three-day score of 3-over 216 put him in a tie at No. 27 on the player leaderboard.Sophomore Josh Jones finished the tournament at 8-over 221.The Tigers had a two-shot lead against Southeastern Conference rival No. 19 South Carolina entering the final day of competition.The Gamecocks finished in fourth place at 2-under 850, and No. 18 Virginia took third place at 4-under 848.N.C. State junior Matt Hill secured the individual title at 9-under 204, two strokes better than Wake Forest sophomore Lee Bedford.–Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]