The LSU women’s golf team will enjoy the opportunity to play in familiar territory this weekend, as it prepares to host the annual LSU Tiger Golf Classic at University Club.
The Lady Tigers rank
No. 17, according to Golfstat.com, after finishing third in their last competition at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate two weeks ago. The tournament featured several ranked teams, including No. 3 Duke, and coach Karen Bahnsen said she knows her team must play well to ultimately join the ranks of the elite.
“That’s who we want to beat come April and May, so to play against them and do well gives our players confidence,” Bahnsen said. “Even if we do not have our best, we still know that we
can compete.”
Freshman Caroline Nistrup nearly won her last outing, eventually losing to Duke’s Yu Liu in a one-hole playoff.
She would have been the third Lady Tiger in as many competitions this spring to finish first overall; however, the Dragoer, Denmark native said her confidence is higher than ever.
“I definitely know that I can compete with the best,” said Nistrup. “I feel like I just need to keep pushing and keep working and someday it will be me holding the trophy.”
Known as a difficult course, the team has mixed emotions regarding playing at University Club. Normally, teams enjoy playing on familiar golf courses, but the difficulty of the course leaves the question of whether that will be the case for the Lady Tigers.
While Nistrup thinks her team will have a firm
understanding of where exactly they want to place the ball, Bahnsen hopes the home-field advantage does not become added pressure.
“In some ways it becomes a disadvantage playing at home because they sometimes try too hard, and we just have to do a good job of managing our emotions,” Bahnsen said.
Senior Ali Lucas believes the team is poised to win this tournament, recalling solid performances and a strong team character that began forming in the fall season.
“We’re a team of fighters, and I think that says a lot about our heart,” Lucas said. “We’re playing individually, but we’re ultimately playing for a
team win.”