Across LSU athletics, young, highly-recruited players join their respective sports and make an immediate impression with how they can play the game.
That could not be more true for the LSU men’s golf team. In the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, the team’s opening tournament, the Tigers’ five-man lineup featured a sophomore and two freshmen.
Not only did the Tigers start three players with a combined four collegiate tournaments of experience, those players’ performances exceeded expectations. Freshman Sam Burns and sophomore Blake Caldwell finished the tournament tied for 19th, and freshman Luis Gagne had a solid showing, tying for 45th in the 81-person field.
LSU coach Chuck Winstead said he is confident the young players will only improve with more playing time.
“[The young golfers] will get more and more comfortable when they see more and more reps. They have a lot of talent,” Winstead said. “I’m not worried about them.”
The Tigers’ starting five, which senior Zach Wright and junior Eric Ricard, finished fourth overall in the team’s first tournament.
The lineup will likely change when junior Brandon Pierce returns from injury. But for now, young golfers must improve and develop with the current lineup.
Pierce’s injury is not ideal but gives his teammates opportunities to step up and show they belong in the starting five. Pierce said he hopes to be back in the lineup when the Tigers host the David Toms Intercollegiate Classic, the Tigers’ lone home event on Oct. 10.
Winstead said the team can still improve, but he shows little concern, as the season has only begun and the end goal is seven months away.
“Sure, we could do better, but the SEC championships are in April, the national championship is in May,” Winstead said. “[The Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic] gave us a snapshot of where we are. We know where we want to go, and now we can start working toward there.”
Shreveport, Louisiana, native Burns was rated the 2015 No. 1 overall recruit by Golfweek.com and came into LSU as a highly-touted freshman who was thought to be a sure starter. Gagne also came in with some hype, but not near the level of Burns.
The Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic allowed the freshmen to start their careers with early success and experience for Caldwell, who played sparingly his first year.
The Tigers will likely have the same starting five as the team travels to Burlington, Iowa, to begin the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Friday.
No. 8 LSU comes into the tournament as the lone ranked team in the 15-team field, representing 15 different conferences. The Tigers won the same event last season by a dominating 11-stroke margin over 2014 runner-up Southern Methodist University.