At the tail end of the fall season, LSU’s men’s golf team is blazing a hot trail, while the women’s team has its eyes on reentering national prominence.
The men’s team is set to compete in The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate beginning Friday, while the women’s team will tee off for the final time this fall in the Mary S. Kauth Invitational in San Antonio on Sunday.
The second-ranked LSU’s men’s golf team was victorious in its two previous tournaments, winning the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and David Toms Intercollegiate.
“It’s easy to get complacent when you experience early success, but we have to keep our focus on the next tournament,” said sophomore Sam Burns. “Focus is key when you’re going up against good competition.”
The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate will feature 11 teams ranked in the top 25 of the Golfweek/ Sagarin Performance Index, including: No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Auburn, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 13 Stanford and No. 20 Southern California.
LSU coach Chuck Winstead liked the performance of his starting lineup in the Tigers’ last tournament, so he will once again use Burns, Luis Gagne, Brandon Pierce and Eric Ricard as starters this weekend.
“We’ve played well on some really tough courses so far,” Winstead said. “We’re excited to go and compete against such a great field of teams.”
LSU’s women’s golf team is coming off of play in the Lady Tar Heel Invitational where they placed 17th as a team.
“We didn’t play as well as we could have in our last tournament, so we’re ready to bounce back in this next one,” said assistant coach Alexis Rather.
Like the men’s team, the Lady Tigers’ will also face a competitive field that includes No. 12 Arkansas, No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 25 Tennessee, Auburn, Houston, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Old Dominion, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Texas State, Tulane and the University of Texas-San Antonio.
Caroline Nistrup, Kathleen Gallagher, Claudia De Antonio, Sydney Cavin and Lana Hodge will represent LSU’s starting lineup on Sunday.
“I think it’s important for us to start the tournament off strong,” Nistrup said. “Ending the fall season on a solid note is a goal for us, and playing well against this field will give us the opportunity to do so.”