Both the Tigers and the No. 3 Lady Tigers enjoyed success in the early portion of their 2011-12 golf seasons, though they came into the year with two different sets of expectations.
A lot was expected from the Lady Tigers this season, and they didn’t disappoint this fall. Ranked No. 4 in the preseason rankings, the Lady Tigers won two of their four fall tournaments.
The Lady Tigers defining performance was in their season-opener at the Cougar Classic, when they set a single-round record for LSU women’s golfers by shooting an 11-under 277 in the final round to secure the team win.
The final round surge allowed the Lady Tigers to overcome a four-stroke deficit heading into the final round.
Sophomore Austin Ernst, the defending NCAA Champion, resumed where she left off after a stellar freshman campaign. Ernst won the individual title at the Cougar Classic by four strokes.
She lead the team in scoring this fall, averaging 72.8 strokes per round. Ernst shot three of the five lowest scores for the team this season, and finished in the top-10 in three of the Lady Tigers’ four tournaments.
Senior Tessa Teachman (72.9) and freshman Madelene Sagstrom (73) rounded out the Lady Tigers scoring efforts with solid half-seasons to their credit.
“It’s been a good fall,” said LSU coach Karen Bahnsen in a press release. “We look forward to the spring. We have some very good players and we have some good trips on the schedule that will test us and get us ready for post-season play.”
The Tigers, meanwhile, improved their standing in every tournament as the fall wore on.
It was unclear how the Tigers would respond to being without John Peterson and Andrew Loupe, their top players from the last four seasons. But after a rough start, the Tigers appear to be fine.
After finishing eighth in the season-opening Carpet Capital Collegiate and seventh in the Jack Nicklaus Invitational — both of which were 12-team fields — the Tigers responded with two top-five finishes to close the fall.
The Tigers finished fourth in the David Toms Intercollegiate, a tournament they historically play well in, and finished the fall with a runner-up finish at the Isleworth Invitational.
LSU actually shaved four strokes off their score from last season’s Isleworth when they had Peterson and Loupe on the squad.
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]