The LSU men’s golf team hasn’t played as a unit in more than three months, but the players used their winter break to keep their games sharp. They kick off the spring portion of their schedule for the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 13.Junior John Peterson said the majority of the team members stayed in Baton Rouge during the winter break to work on their games.”Clayton Rotz stayed here for almost the entire break,” Peterson said. “I came back as early as I could. Josh Jones’ dad works for an airline, so he was flying in here a lot to play. We all got some good work in before school started.”The team is hoping to build off the success it enjoyed in the last tournament of the fall when LSU won the David Toms Intercollegiate at the Country Club of Louisiana.Peterson said coach Chuck Winstead wants the team to use the victory as a springboard to success in the spring season.”Coach Winstead preaches to make success a habit,” Peterson said. “Once we start winning, we should be able to keep winning. If we don’t believe we can win, it’s probably not going to happen.”LSU kicked off the season as the No. 12 team in the nation and seemed poised to be a contender for the national championship. But the Tigers stumbled out of the gates, and by the time their fall season finished, they dropped out of the top 25.”I know the guys are looking forward to competing,” Winstead said. “I think the main thing we need to do is not get overly pumped-up. We need to ease into this and just go play golf instead of going out there with all these expectations and intensity for the first round of the spring.”Peterson and fellow junior Andrew Loupe have spearheaded the attack for LSU thus far. But for LSU to be counted among the nation’s elite, Winstead believes the remainder of the players need to start rounding out their respective games.”We’re looking to improve across the board,” Winstead said. “We want better play from the bottom half of our lineup. Obviously the weather hasn’t been great in Baton Rouge, but our guys have been working hard, and we’re looking for better, more consistent play out of our guys.”Loupe and Peterson have combined to form a formidable duo for the Tigers. Both golfers own below-par averages this season, and each has claimed the only top-five finishes for the Tigers this season.”They have put the work in — they’ve changed their skill sets,” Winstead said. “[Peterson] has improved his putting [Loupe] is hitting the ball straighter. I’m looking forward to them having good springs.”LSU will face a difficult challenge in Gainesville. Florida has won the Gator Invitational for seven consecutive years and started the spring season ranked No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.”LSU might not know this, but we’ve got one of the top-five talented rosters in the country,” Peterson said. “If we win here, we’ll be able to win some more tournaments this spring.”—-Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]