The LSU golf teams look to improve in their respective tournaments this weekend.
The LSU men host the third annual LSU Spring Invitational Feb. 28 – March 2 at The University Club. Tournament participants will play a round of 18 holes each of the three days beginning at 8 a.m.
In last year’s rain-shortened tournament, LSU posted a victory with a team performance of nine under par in the one round tournament. LSU golfers John Humphries and Heath West, along with three other golfers topped the individual leaderboard in 2002. Humphries leads the Tigers this season in average strokes per 18 holes with 72.4, while West has a 73.6 average.
This year the tournament field consists of 19 teams, including Golf Digest’s No. 23 College of Charleston and in-state rivals University of Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane.
The LSU women travel to compete in Purdue’s Lady Puerto Rico Classic Feb. 28 through March 1. The tournament consists of two rounds of 18 holes Friday and one round of 18 on Saturday.
The 18-team field consists of seven teams ranked in Golf Digest Top 25 rankings. A sample of the ranked teams include No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Duke and No. 7 Florida.
LSU head coach Karen Bahnsen looks for Dickie Mayer, a newcomer from Brazil, to improve the team’s performance. She also expects sophomore Brooke Shelton and junior Devon Day to continue solid play for the Lady Tigers. Shelton leads the Lady Tigers in average strokes per 18 holes with 77.67 on the season, while Day has a 79.67 average.
“We haven’t been playing up to my expectations lately,” Bahnsen said. “I’m looking for us to improve this weekend.”