The No. 28 LSU men’s golf team will head into the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas, on Monday riding a hot streak that has put them back on the national radar.
The Tigers will tackle the 7,412-yard, par 71 University of Texas Golf Club course having won two of their last three tournaments.At the beginning of the season, the men’s team seemed poised to turn in one of the better seasons in recent history for the LSU golf program.The Tigers ranked No. 12 in the preseason Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and returned a core of young players that could reap the rewards of their vast potential.But LSU stumbled out of the gates during the fall portion of its schedule, finishing 10th out of a stacked 15-team field in the season-opening PING/Golfweek Invitational, falling out of the top-25 completely.”Golf’s a little bit different than other sports,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead. “It’s not like a baseball series where you get three games and three different chances to win. In golf you play over three days, and at the end of the three days you find out if you beat the other teams or not.”But LSU wrapped up a team victory in its last tournament of the fall at the David Toms Intercollegiate in Baton Rouge, which set the tone for their spring season.The Tigers have won two and finished in the top five in four of their last five tournaments.The scoring format for collegiate golf requires a team to count four scores toward its cumulative team scores. The success LSU has seen this spring can easily be traced to the consistency of the lineup from top to bottom.Sophomores Austin Gutgsell and Sang Yi have catapulted the Tigers back into contention this spring. The sophomores have combined for five top-20 finishes this spring and two top-five finishes. Neither finished in the top-40 in the fall.”I feel good about where we are. The guys have played well,” Winstead said. “Obviously Sang and Austin’s play this spring has had a big impact on how the team is doing.”Yi and Gutgsell are joined by standout juniors Andrew Loupe and John Peterson to form the scoring team.Loupe has paced the Tigers in two events this spring, including his first-place finish at the Louisiana Classics tournament and his runner-up finish at the Gator Invitational.Peterson, meanwhile, has been plagued by one inconsistent round in nearly every tournament this spring. The All-American has shot four rounds above a 77 this spring, yet has still managed to nab two top-15 finishes.Winstead said he isn’t concerned about his star player, in large part because of some unlucky bounces and his team’s success this spring.”I think [Peterson] is coming into form,” Winstead said. “He hit a lot of very quality golf shots this week, and his putting hasn’t been better all year long. I’m comfortable with where his game is headed. I think he’s going to be just fine.”LADY TIGERS HEAD TO LAST REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENTThe No. 20 LSU women’s golf team will compete in its last regular season tournament this weekend in the Bryan National Collegiate tournament at the 7,135-yard, par 72 Bryan Park Golf Course in Browns Summit, N.C.The Lady Tigers are coming off a three-week break following their fourth-place finish at the Tiger/Wave Classic at English Turn in New Orleans.The 18-team field in the Bryan National Collegiate features 12 teams currently ranked in the top-30 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, including No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Duke.Junior Megan McChrystal won the individual title at the Tiger/Wave Classic, her third career collegiate tournament victory. She was named the Southeastern Conference and National Women’s Golfer of the Week for her efforts.McChrystal will team with sophomore Tessa Teachman to form a formidable one-two punch for the Lady Tigers. The two have combined to finish in the top-15 individual rankings in seven of the 10 tournaments they have played.The Lady Tigers will also benefit from the return of freshman Mary Michael Maggio, who missed five months after shoulder surgery.”Maggio isn’t 100 percent yet, but it’s a lot better and she’s been able to practice and play on it,” said Lady Tigers coach Karen Bahnsen. “We’re just going to take it easy and be smart with it.” 
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