Fall golf is officially in full swing.
The seventh-ranked LSU men’s golf team will travel to Arizona to compete in the Maui Jim Intercollegiate Friday through Saturday. Meanwhile, the women’s team will play in Oklahoma’s Schooner Fall Classic Saturday through Monday.
This will be the men’s second tournament of the season, after the team finished fourth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic two weeks ago.
“We chose to play in this tournament because no one on our roster has played in it yet,” said LSU men’s coach Chuck Winstead. “We believe that you gain as a team by learning from something new, and that’s what we’re going to try to do this weekend.”
No. 11 California, No. 17 South Carolina and No. 24 Baylor will highlight the field of 16 teams in this year’s Maui Jim.
Even against the stacked field, the Tigers will also battle a change in elevation. The site of the tournament sits at a whopping 1,248 feet above sea level.
Sam Burns, Luis Gagne, Rhyne Jones, Brandon Pierce and Eric Ricard will be the featured golfers in the Maui Jim as LSU continues to form its tournament lineup.
“Our goal is to keep feeling out the lineup and figure out where we are as a team,” Ricard said. “We also want to develop some consistency, so we can be competitive in the spring.”
Although the men’s team finished fourth in its first tournament, Winstead suggested there is still much room for improvement.
“We struggled with unforced errors in the Carpet Capital,” he said. “We need to clean up those mistakes and attempt to hit the best shot and make the best play in tournaments like this.”
The Lady Tigers will compete as a team for the first time in the 2016 campaign.
“The biggest positive about the start of this season is our health,” said LSU women’s coach Karen Bahnsen. “Two of our girls struggled with injuries last season, but we’re all healthy to start this year.”
Although plagued by injuries, the Lady Tigers made an appearance in the NCAA Regionals last year.
Senior Caroline Nistrup was one of those injured Tigers.
“I’m happy to be able to go out and compete again,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what this team looks like now that we’re all healthy.”
To sophomore Kathleen Gallagher, competing in this tournament is about more than just knocking off rust.
“We have to put [in] the work in order to get better, and that starts with this tournament,” Gallagher said. “We’re not satisfied with just going out there to play — we want to win.”
The Schooner Classic will include traditional golf powerhouses like No. 3 Alabama, No. 14 Kent State, No. 17 Iowa State and No. 23 Texas A&M.
Despite the talent playing in this tournament, mother nature may come out the winner. A heavy rain forecast runs through the duration of the tournament, yet LSU remains optimistic.
“We’re excited about the competition in this tournament,” Bahnsen said. “In order to be the best you have to play the best.”