The most important weekend of the LSU golf season begins today.
Both of the LSU men’s and women’s golf teams will compete for a Southeastern Conference Championship beginning as early as 6:30 a.m.
The No. 7 men’s team is set to participate at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, and the No. 4 Lady Tigers in Birmingham, Alabama, at Greystone Country Club.
The men are familiar with the course because Sea Island Golf Club has hosted the conference championship 13 times in the previous 15 seasons. The course, scenically, harbors the Atlantic Ocean, forcing shots off the tee box into a narrow fairway.
“The course plays into the marsh in the ocean,” said LSU coach Chuck Winstead. “For this golf course more than other golf courses, you have to have a good tee-shot.”
They are set to face a grouping of the nation’s best teams, including No. 5 Vanderbilt and No. 6 South Carolina, according to Golfstat. The field also features three-time defending champion Alabama, which sits in 25th in Golfstat’s ranking.
“The SEC championships in any sports, the field is going to be strong,” Winstead said. “We have to focus on us. You don’t play defense in our sport, you just have your ball in control. So hopefully we can go out there and control them.”
LSU men’s golf has its sights on its first conference title in 28 seasons, which progression throughout the season has made possible.
“We just have been working on the same things all season,” Winstead said. “We have five guys that are all very similar. So hopefully, we will have a balanced approach toward success this year.”
The Lady Tigers could also experience extended pressure from their opponents throughout the weekend. The women will face an elite class of conference opponents in No. 2 South Carolina, No. 8 Mississippi State and No. 9 Arkansas.
The ladies have placed first or second in their last four tournaments, including their most recent victory at home, which was the third tournament win of the season.
Senior Madelene Sagstrom has been the force behind LSU’s successful season.
Sagstrom is No. 2 in overall women’s collegiate individual rankings. She and the rest of the Lady Tigers strive to carry regular season success into the postseason.
It has been two weeks since each of the teams have competed. This will be the last tournament before both teams compete in the NCAA Division I Regionals beginning May 14 for the men and May 7 for the Lady Tigers.