The LSU men’s golf team celebrated another victory on Monday evening after beating 14 other teams to finish first in the Bryan Bros Collegiate — the team’s second straight tournament win.
The Tigers ruled over the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia, South Carolina, finishing at 35-under 817 over three rounds. They were headlined by Noah McWilliams and Jay Mendell tying for second at 11-under 202. They posted a 70-64-68 and 66-68-68, respectively.
McWilliams, like at the Stephen’s Cup, had the best round in the field, shooting a 7-under 64 in the second round that was only matched by Clemson’s Lucas Augustsson.
The tournament was moved up one day to a Sunday-Monday slate due to weather, but the change did not faze the Tigers. LSU finished the first round in second place behind UNC Charlotte, but overtook them after Monday morning’s round and retained the lead once the afternoon’s was completed.
Mendell finished the first round tied for first after a 5-under 66. Senior Matthew Dodd-Berry opened with a 3-under 68 to keep up his momentum following his match-play victory in the Stephens Cup.
The five competing Tigers combined to finish the first round at 11-under par, good enough for second place. The following day was a tough test, with each golfer playing 36 holes and starting shotgun rounds at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The early morning second round saw LSU have the best performance of any round out of any team at 14-under total, led by McWilliams’ 64. Freshman standout Dan Hayes followed the leader with a 4-under 67, while Mendell added a 68.
The Tigers took a three-stroke lead over Charlotte into the short break before starting back up in the afternoon.
Mendell and his teammates continued their dominance down the stretch, as he, McWilliams and Arni Sveinsson all shot 68s in the final round.
Throughout the third round, LSU and Charlotte were the only two teams left with a true chance at victory. Both finished the round at 10 under, which gave LSU the victory by three strokes.
This marks the sixth win for LSU under head coach Jake Amos, who is in his second season leading the Tigers.
“That was a lot of fun,” Amos said on X (formally known as Twitter) after the win. “Finished the round really strong to get our second win of the season.”
This weekend, the Tigers also had two players competing as individuals in the Bayou City Collegiate Classic at the Westwood Golf Club in Houston.
Senior Luke Haskew finished tied for 10th at 4-under 212, while sophomore Dylan Kayne tied for 20th at 2-over 218.
The full team will be back together Oct. 18-20 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational.
