The No. 3 LSU men’s golf team aims to continue its spring campaign success as the team travels to the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico,
beginning on March 1.
LSU will compete against seven of the nation’s top-15 collegiate teams in the tournament, according to Golfweek. The elite field also includes three Southeastern Conference opponents: Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
LSU coach Chuck Winstead said his team began to play better and progress as its debut tournament came to a close, and that has continued into the team’s
preparation for this Sunday.
“Our focus is to continue to get better,” Winstead said. “We have so many tournaments ahead of us. We are not there yet, but we just have to continue to focus on getting our games in shape.”
The Tigers settled in a tie for fourth-place finish in their opening event, led by a strong performance from senior Myles Lewis, who concluded his week by capturing a tournament score of 10-under par 206.
Lewis was trailed by sophomores Eric Ricard and Brandon Pierce, who were the only other Tigers to score under par.
Ricard rewrote his personal record when he scored a new career-low round of 66 on the final day. He finished the tournament at 9-under par, one stroke behind Lewis.
Pierce ended his week shooting 7-under par, placing him into a tie for 10th place. Senior Ben Taylor and freshman Blake Caldwell also competed for the Tigers, finishing at 7-over par and 13-over par,
respectively.
Winstead commended his team on rallying as a group and becoming more cohesive as a squad in its tie for fourth in the Prestige
tournament.
“They continue to fight, and it is being proven,” Winstead said. “The more comfortable they get, the more they stretch their vision of who they can be and the more they are capable of.”
Winstead said he is ambitious to see how his team will fare with tougher conditions expected on the Cabo San Lucas course.
“This course in Cabo San Lucas the scores will be higher,” Winstead said. “There will be more adversity. The wind will be between 10 to 20 [miles an hour], but the weather should be good. It will be a harder test, so I am looking forward to seeing how we stand when facing adversity on a harder golf course.”
California and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, are the first two stops on the Tigers’ busy traveling schedule this spring, which is crucial to Winstead. He said the early adversity the team has faced this spring will be beneficial for his troupe down the stretch this season.
“Guys need experience on playing in different places,” Winstead said. “We need travel around, getting the team more experience when playing in different places around the country.”
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwell_TDR.