The Ingrid Lindblad-led LSU women’s golf squad has taken the No. 1 spot in Golfweek’s latest national rankings updated Thursday, Oct. 29.
The Tigers are coming off two straight second place finishes in their first two events of the fall season at the Blessings Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas and The Ally in West Point, Mississippi. Both courses are regarded as two of the toughest in the country.
“We essentially played an SEC championship on Arkansas’ home course for the first tournament of the year and finished second,” LSU Women’s Golf Head Coach Garrett Runion said on the SEC-only competition at the Blessings Invitational.
“Obviously we would have liked to win the trophy today, but I was very pleased with another second-place finish for the second tournament in a row to start the season,” Runion said weeks later at The Ally. “I felt like we got better each day. Everybody contributed.”
LSU missed out on first place in last week’s rankings by just 0.09 points, trailing only South Carolina who fell to fourth place this week. Now, LSU boasts a score of 70.18, 0.16 above second place Arkansas.
The rating is calculated by a combination of strength of schedule, team record and stroke differential. The two tournaments the Lady Tigers have competed in this fall season are rated as the two hardest tournaments in collegiate golf, yielding a collective score of 72.24: 71.90 for the Blessings Invitational and 72.24 for the Ally. These tournaments have been regarded as top-notch competitions that resemble SEC championships.
LSU has steadily climbed in the rankings this year, beginning the season at 13th place following the Blessings Invitational, then making the leap to second after The Ally and now coming in at the top spot.
In the individual rankings, LSU features two golfers in the top ten nationwide with a pair of sophomores, Lindblad in second and Latanna Stone at eighth place, with ratings of 67.38 and 69.46, respectively. Freshman Carla Tejedo Mulet is at 19th with a 70.40 rating.
“Carla is getting stronger every time she hits the course. This was just her second college golf tournament. She finished even par and felt like she left a lot on the table. So you know we got a good one with her,” Runion said after Mulet’s performance at The Ally.
Women’s golf will look to remain in the top spot as the team travels to Athens, Georgia for the Liz Murphey Fall Collegiate Classic beginning Friday, Nov. 6. Following the 2019-20 season, the women’s team was ranked 12th by Golfweek.
Lindblad’s 70.17 average leads the team, and Stone’s 72.33 is second. Tejedo Mulet, Jessica Bailey and Kendall Griffin round out the team’s top-5 scorers.
“Now it is time to get rested and recharged before the last tournament of the fall at Georgia,” said Runion.