Defending a championship is never as easy as winning it the first time.
When the No. 9 LSU men’s golf team tees it up Sunday at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, they’ll be bidding to defend the title they captured last season in Awendaw, S.C.
A year ago, LSU led wire to wire, firing a 7-under-par 845 at Bulls Bay Golf Club to best Wake Forest by one shot.
Then-sophomore Sang Yi posted his best career score — a 6-under-par 207— to place third and pace the Tigers.
“The course sets up well for us, and going to a course where we won before is definitely a confidence boost,” said senior Andrew Loupe.
A strong field stands in the way of an LSU repeat. Nine of the nation’s top-25 teams will compete. Fourth-ranked Florida and No. 8 Auburn headline the group. Texas A&M and Augusta State, both top-15 teams, highlight the non-SEC squads.
Ole Miss, Kentucky and South Carolina will also represent the Southeastern Conference.
LSU coach Chuck Winstead will take five players to the Palmetto State, four of whom played in the 2010 event.
Yi and Loupe will be joined by senior John Peterson, junior Austin Gutgsell and freshman Andrew Presley.
The 54-hole event begins Sunday morning and runs through Tuesday.
LSU has finished in the top four in all four events this spring, including a second-place finish at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette.
LSU returns home next week in preparation for the LSU National Invitational at the newly renovated University Club.
“We’re moving in the right direction, but we’re not there yet,” Loupe said. “We’re going to a course that we won at last year, and then we have our home event. If we continue to build, and we play a couple of solid tournament, that can definitely give us a lot of confidence headed into the postseason.”
 
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Contact Hunt Palmer at [email protected]