A week after the PGA’s Masters tournament, the LSU men’s and women’s golf teams tee off at the Southeastern Conference Championships today attempting to master the competition this weekend.
The Lady Tigers cracked the top 10 for the first time this season with the SEC Championships awaiting them at the Tunica National Golf Course in Tunica, Miss., this weekend. The Lady Tigers tee off today, ranked No. 10 in the most recent Golfstat women’s rankings. The team finished in a tie for second place behind Vanderbilt in the tournament last year while hosting the event.
Georgia earned the No. 2 spot and is the highest ranked team in the SEC heading into this weekend’s tournament.
Individually, LSU also has four golfers ranked among the SEC’s top 15. Junior Vicky Meyer (No.14 SEC) led the Lady Tigers to a second-place finish, 13 strokes behind the Lady Bulldogs, at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on March 13. She finished 14th overall, shooting 10-over par. LSU also finished ahead of No. 7 Auburn and No. 8 Tennessee in that tournament.
Boasting a 10-6 record against top 25 teams this season, the Lady Tigers also earned their second first-place finish this season at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic on March 20. Freshman Rebecca Kuhn (No. 11 SEC) finished second overall at 2-under par. LSU defeated in-state foe and No. 12-ranked Tulane to take the title.
Melissa Eaton leads the Lady Tigers individually (No. 9 SEC), while senior Brooke Shelton (No. 15 SEC) rounds out the rankings.
“We’re a young team, but I feel like we’ve been getting better all year,” said LSU women’s golf coach Karen Bahnsen. “We’re capable of beating any of the teams at this tournament. We just have to concentrate on playing each hole. If you beat the course one hole at a time, you usually defeat your opponents.”
The LSU men’s golf club ranked No. 30 in Golfstat’s most recent men’s rankings, its highest achievement this season. The Tigers tee off today in the SEC men’s championships at Sea Island Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. The squad finished in eighth place at the tournament last spring.
The Tigers will face defending SEC champion and No. 3-ranked Georgia this weekend among six other ranked conference teams. Seventh-ranked Florida and No. 8 Auburn round out the top 10, while No. 17 Kentucky, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 22 Alabama all await LSU.
The Tigers rank sixth in the nation with 15 wins against teams ranked in the top 25. LSU earned its only first-place finish this season on April 3 at the LSU Spring Invitational. Freshman Beck Troutman claimed the individual championship and led the squad at 5-under par.