DALLAS — Fresh off its first tournament title since 1998, the LSU men’s golf team opens play Monday at the 2000 Taylor Made Red River Classic in Dallas.
The Tigers, ranked 15th in the Sagarin Golfweek rankings, are coming off their first tournament win after taking the top spot in the Tennessee Tournament of Champions in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 19 by beating out five ranked opponents in the field.
Head coach Greg Jones is hoping his team will be as succesful this time around as it was in Tennessee.
“We’re looking for consistency in this tournament, we are a little scared of a letdown but we hope the intensity is still there”, said Jones.
Senior Alan Morgan claimed the individual title in Knoxville to earn his second career victory, and first as a Tiger. His first came while he was at South Alabama.
Jones noted that sophomore Mark Schultz, a Dallas native will see his first action for the Tigers. Schultz is a graduate of Berkner High School.
“This will be a chance for Mark to play in his hometown on one of his home courses”, said Jones.
The field for the Red River Classic includes: No. 5 Houston, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Texas, No. 13 Texas Christian, No. 19 BYU, No. 20 Kent State, No. 21 Washington, No. 22 Southern Cal, No. 23 tournament host Oklahoma, Arkansas, Duke, LSU, Ohio State, SMU and Texas A&M (MasterCard rankings).
Oklahoma State won last year’s team title at the 6,766-yard par-72 Dallas Athletic Club with a score of 51-under 813.
The tournament format consists of 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.
After the Red River Classic, the Tigers will participate in the Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Intercollegiate on Oct. 16-17 in Tampa, Fla.