The No. 8 LSU men’s golf team suffered a setback at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.
From the start of the event Friday, the Tigers were never able to find their footing as they finished the opening round in 11th place. The team improved in the next two rounds but only did enough to secure 9th place and finish 5-over par, 27 strokes behind the event winner, the University of Iowa.
Freshmen Sam Burns and Nathan Jeansonne were a bright spot on a down weekend for the Tigers. Both freshmen shot career lows in the second round with Burns shooting a 68 and Jeansonne posting a 71.
Burns used his career-high performance to launch himself as high as 13th before finishing an LSU-best 16th overall. Jeansonne concluded the tournament tied for 23rd after again improving on his career-high, shooting a final round 69.
Senior Zach Wright finished 1-over par for the event, while juniors Eric Ricard and Rhyne Jones both finished 9-over par, leaving the lone senior tied at 38th and the juniors tied for 51st.
The tournament was a step back for LSU, which is still looking for its first tournament win of the year, but help is on the way in the form of 2015 Third-Team All-American Brandon Pierce.
Pierce has been out with a neck injury since the season began but is hoping to make his return at LSU’s next event, the David Toms Intercollegiate Classic, on Oct. 10.
The result comes as an upset as LSU was the only team ranked in the top 50 of Golfweek.com’s rankings at the start of the tournament.