LSU men’s golf team finished the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Auburn University, tied for third with a team total of 13-under 851 (287-281-283).  The tournament was held at the Grand National Lake Course in Opelika, Alabama.
As much of the story will consist of how those who travelled fared in Alabama, the narrative could also present an interesting other story; those who did not travel.
Junior and the coach’s son, Trey Winstead did not dress this week for the first time this season and it was the first time Winstead was out of the roster since The Southwestern Invitational in January 2020. Two weeks prior to this event hosted by Auburn, Trey was visibly struggling to find fairways off the tee; his drives were errant and would be forced into ‘rough’ situations to save par.
Freshman Hugo Aguilar Puertes, native of Valencia, Spain, also did not dress this week. Puertes has not played in a single event this season – not even the home event, where the host team can play the entire squad; as an individual. Puertes has been cleared to swing the clubs, but the rookie will have to do some impressing in order to secure a playing spot.
Junior Hayden White did not make the trip to Opelika this week as well. Reasonably so, his 31-over two weeks ago at the team’s home course did not help his chances.
Due to inclement weather on Tuesday night, the fields final holes of the third round were suspended. Play resumed at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The Tigers finished strong with a third-round score of 5-under.
Junior Garret Barber finished tied for eighth at 6-under, four strokes off the lead, Tyson Reeder of Arkansas. This marks his second top-10 finish this season.
When play was halted on Tuesday, Barber was sitting at 2-over for his third round with six holes to play. On Wednesday, in his remaining six holes, he shot a 2-under to bring his score back to even-par and 6-under for the tournament. Barber birdied two of the six holes played on Wednesday and parred the other four. Barber finished the tournament with 10 birdies.
Freshman Nicholas Arcement shot a 4-under tying him for 13th; his best collegiate placing. Arcement was able to pick up four birdies on his third round to help drop his score. Amongst the field of 89 players, Arcement tied for fifth for his performances on par-4’s. He averaged an even score of 4 strokes for all of the par-4’s played.
Fellow freshman Drew Doyle, who showed his might two weeks ago at University Club, strung together a valiant 1-under. His third round was circled with four birdies and two bogeys, 2-under, to keep his score sub-par. Doyle presented his skills on the short holes, the par-3’s. He attacked the pins and averaged 2.91, 1-under, on all of the par-3’s this week.
Junior Michael Sanders finished 2-over, tied for 36^th. Sander’s lowest score this week was on his second round, 1-under. In round three, Sanders rode the bogey train for seven holes, however, he managed to soften their blow by rolling in four birdies.
Sophomore Connor Gaunt continues to struggle for the second consecutive tournament. At LSU’s Tiger invitational, Gaunt shot a 5-over on the team’s home course, this week in Alabama he shot a 5-over. Gaunt is proven to be a valuable player on the team, with a length track record of success, now he must reinvigorate his drive for the remainder of the spring.
Junior Chris Woollam played as the solo individual this week. Woollam proved worthy of a spot on the short travel roster from his stellar performance two weeks ago. However, whether it was his nerves or poor playing conditions, Woollam shot 11-over as he will try to learn from his first experience travelling with the team this season.
The Tigers will next travel to West Point, Mississippi next week to compete in the Old Waverly Collegiate. Any coaching staff should be impressed and encourage with a top-3 performance, but it seems as if it is time to take inventory of accessible talent and continue to fight through the remainder of the season.