The Men’s LSU golf team started off the season with a strong outing at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate tournament, shooting 15-under par as a team and finishing second behind Missouri on Monday.

“Solid week, this week for our team,” Head Coach Chuck Winstead said. “We saw that we have the ability when things are going to shoot a low score. We had the experience of being in contention to win the golf tournament. And while we fell short today, if used the right way can be a good experience for this team as we grow throughout the year.”

The Tigers held a 12-stroke lead entering the match on Monday. In the later embers of the match, Missouri came from behind to secure the victory. As a whole LSU led the tournament in Eagles and Birdies with a total of 61.

Michael Sanders left his mark on the match leading the single player stat sheet in Birdies with 15. Sanders made it known in an interview that winning a tournament as a Tiger after much adversity is something that he will never forget.

“It feels great,” Sanders said. “It has been a goal of mine every year since I have been here at LSU and I’m really excited to get it done. It’s been a tough couple of years with injuries and surgery so it’s really nice to see hard work paying off after a lot of hard times.”

Even though Sanders had an unforgettable individual performance in New York he still was disappointed to not get the team win. Moving forward Sanders expects after the strong performance by the team that morale will be riding high into the next tournament willing them to victory. 

Through three rounds Sanders shot a 207 leaving him nine under par for the tournament. In the second round he shot a career low, 8-under par. He tied for first alongside Missouri’s Jack Parker. The Tigers had three players finish within the top ten of the player leaderboard.

LSU will focus their attention on the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate tournament next Monday, Sep.13.