The No. 8 LSU men’s golf team looks to defend its crown at the 54-hole Golfweek Conference Challenge today at 9 a.m.
The Tigers will travel to Burlington, Iowa, as the Southeastern Conference representative in the challenge for the third straight year and will be paired with 2014 runner up Southern Methodist University and Big 10 representative the Universtiy of Iowa.
In 2013, the Tigers placed fifth overall but bounced back last season, winning by an impressive 11-stroke margin over SMU. The Tigers also managed a 25-stroke lead over third place Iowa with the help of the tournament’s overall winner, former LSU All-American Stewart Jolly.
LSU coach Chuck Winstead said the team is preparing for the upcoming tournament and wants to win, but the primary focus is improving the team, not on the competition.
“We’re getting started working on our prep for [the GCC],” Winstead said. “What we try to do everyday is have fun and get better. If you are having fun and you’re out there working hard to get better, you can’t really beat that.”
LSU placed fourth as a team at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, the Tigers’ debut tournament that ended Sept. 13. But the LSU lineup features multiple changes from the opening event.
Senior Zach Wright, junior Eric Ricard and freshman Sam Burns are the Tigers returning to the lineup after the first tournament, while sophomore Blake Caldwell and freshman Luis Gagne are being dropped in favor of junior Rhyne Jones and freshman Nathan Jeansonne.
Caldwell finished the CCCC tied for 19th, his best performance as a Tiger, and Gagne placed 45th in his collegiate debut.
Both Jones and Jeansonne are seeing their first action of 2015, and GCC will be just the second tournament Jones plays for the Tigers after transferring to LSU from the University of Nevada last season.
Wright started the 2015 season with eight career top-10 finishes, tying for fourth overall at the CCCC, which included a career-low 6-under in the final round.
Ricard finished as the GCC runner-up in 2014 to Jolly. The performance remains his best in 17 tournament appearances as a Tiger and led to a sophomore season that culminated with him being recognized as a 2015 PING Honorable Mention All-American.
Burn’s collegiate career got off to a hot start as he secured a top-20 finish in his first action as a Tiger. The Shreveport, Louisiana, native’s debut tournament was highlighted by a first round 69.
Jeansonne, a high school teammate of Burns, also was a top-10 recruit nationally and came into LSU alongside Burns and Gagne to elevate LSU to a No.1 recruiting class.
The GCC’s 15-team field will represent 15 different conferences including American Athletic Conference representative SMU and tournament host Iowa. LSU is the heavy favorite for the event as the lone team ranked in the top 50.
The Tigers entered the season No. 2 in the preseason polls but are No. 8 in Golfweek’s latest rankings updated Monday.
The SEC representative won the GCC three of four last seasons, with Arkansas winning in 2011, Missouri in 2012 and LSU in 2014. The Tigers’ fifth place finish in 2013 is the lone exception.