LSU women’s golf traveled to Athens, Georgia, for the final SEC tournament of the fall, the Liz Murphey Collegiate. The women’s team did not fare as well as it had hoped.
Following a battle-tested second round score of 7-over 295, the team fell to seventh place. On Sunday, the Tigers failed to move on the leaderboard in the right direction. They dropped three spots and finished tenth.
Entering the tournament, the women’s team was ranked No. 1 by Golfweek, and Head Coach Garret Runion told The Advocate that they must still perform well despite the ranking.
“I never talk about rankings that much,” Runion said. “I want us to focus on what we can control. If we put in the work, the rankings will follow. That’s what I said three years ago when we were ranked 65th or 70th, and that’s what I say now. But it’s a nice validation that we are on the right path in the things we’re doing. It is a nice feather in the cap.”
The only thing the Tigers had the ability to control was their performance at the Liz Murphy Fall Collegiate.
Round three, which took place on Sunday, did not go well with no Tiger posting a sub-par final score. Sophomore Ingrid Lindblad was able to collect a little mojo, carding 14 pars on her third round. Lindblad led the team with a score of even-par 216. This score fueled her, as it was her third consecutive top-10 for lowest individual score. Among the SEC field, Lindblad finished tied for seventh and continues to bolster her claim for the ANNIKA Award this spring.
Another ANNIKA Award candidate, sophomore Latanna Stone, padded her resume in Georgia. Stone tied for 26th with a score of 7-over 223, the second lowest team score. Following Stone, freshman Carla Tejeda Mulet signed a 8-over 224 scorecard, tying her for 33rd. Senior Kendall Griffin throughout the whole tournament failed to gain momentum to produce a low score, as she had difficulty playing the front nine on all three days. Griffin’s average score on the front nine for the tournament was 3.33-over. Griffin finished 10-over and tied for 42nd. Junior and transfer student Jessica Bailey posted a score of 11-over, tying her for 45th place. Bailey carded one of the only three eagles for the field during the tournament.
Regardless of the rankings following the performance in Georgia, the LSU women’s team will always remember its efforts and performances it took to achieve the No. 1 spot.
“I told them no matter how old they are or where they are,” Runion told The Advocate, “they can always say they played on the No. 1 team in the country.”
The women’s squad had to overcome a rush of emotions that was abruptly cut short this past spring, as it was lightning hot and projected to be a major contender. Golf’s spring season, along with all other spring sports, was canceled due to the pandemic, and its effects have rippled into the fall season. The fall season was condensed and enumerated with several new protocols that must be adhered to for play to continue. The pandemic will continue to present a challenge for collegiate golf into the spring season, when Runion and the Tigers hope to return to the top of the golf world again.
“If we stay healthy and do what we’re doing we have a good opportunity to give ourselves a chance for sure,” Runion said. “The talent and work ethic is there. A lot of things have to line up, but that’s certainly our goal.”
The women’s team is currently scheduled to host a NCAA Regional on May 10-12 at the University Club, where the Tigers will look to claim what was stripped of them last year.
“The girls are definitely motivated and excited,” Runion told The Advocate, “But we also know we would rather be No. 1 at the end of May.”