After an eighth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference golf tournament, the LSU men’s golf team is hoping to gain a bid to a NCAA regional to be held May 20-22.
Coach Greg Jones said the team should receive an entry to the tournament.
“Yes, [I think we will get a bid to the tournament],” Jones said.
There are three regionals. The East Regional will be held at the Yale Golf Course in New Haven, Conn. The Central Regional will be held at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., and the West Regional will be held at the Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Jones said he hopes the team will receive a bid into the East Regional.
“I hope we go to the East because I coached a regional there when I was at the University of South Alabama,” Jones said.”Although [the selection committee] will probably try to balance out the regionals.”
Jones said he believes the team will be one of the top-five seeds in a regional.
“I anticipate that we will be the No. 4 or five-seed in the East,” Jones said. “If the committee does try to mix up the regionals, we could end up playing at Purdue or in Oregon, but I think being in the southeastern district, we will be given a bid into the East.”
The selection committee awards bids to 63 teams, assigning 21 teams to each regional. The top-10 teams from each regional will move on to the finals to be held at the Cascades Golf Course, The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., on June 1-4.
Jones said if the team does its best, they will be playing in the finals.
“I think that if we play our best, we are one of the top 30 teams in the country,” Jones said. “The way college golf works is five guys play the course and the four lowest scores each day make up your team score. So as long as four guys play well every day, we can easily make it into the finals.
“As long as we execute, concentrate, make good decisions, hit the fairways and play good short game, we should do well.”
Jones said he has four spots on the five-man team for sure but does not know who the fifth man will be.
“I know for sure that Heath West, Andrew Lanahan, Garrett Prather, and Jeff Riemann will be playing,” Jones said. “The last spot will go to either Garrett Runion, Brandon Aydlett, or Greg Mason.”
Senior golfer Garrett Prather said he is sure the team will get a bid.
“Yeah, I think we will [get a bid to the regionals],” Prather said. “I’m almost positive we will.”
Prather also said the team should be able to get into the finals.
“Everybody’s playing well right now,” Prather said. “We’re confident and you have to finish in the top 10 to get into the finals, and everyone thinks we are capable of at least finishing in the top 10.”