GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 22nd ranked LSU men’s golf team will begin play today in the 2001 Gator Invitational to open the spring portion of its 2000-01 season. The Tigers are part of a 15-team field playing at the University of Florida Golf Course where Florida will be the host.
The Tigers, ranked 22nd in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin rankings are seeing their first action since a thrilling come-from behind victory at the Country Club of Louisiana Intercollegiate in October.
The win at the Intercollegiate was the Tigers’ second tournament win of the fall season and capped one of the most succesful falls in school history. The Tigers rallied from third place and four strokes behind after one day of play to win the eighth annual event. The Tigers shot a final round 2-under par 286 to finish with a total of 856, a tournament record.
Alan Morgan was the most consistent player of the fall season for the Tigers. The senior from Lake Charles has the lowest stroke average on the team at 70.8 and is also rated as the number 25 player in the country by Golfweek. Morgan was the top individual at the CCLA, shooting a final round 72 to win his second tournament of the year.
Morgan also won medalist honors as the top individual at the Tennessee Tournament of Champions in September. Morgan fired back- to-back 67’s on the first day of the CCLA for a 36-hole record of 134.
“Alan is a fighter and he loves his teammates and his school, there is nothing new I can say about him that hasn’t been said already,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones.
Morgan has been the Tigers best player so far on the season. He has posted four top-10 finishes to go along with the two victories. Jones will put out the same lineup he used at the CCLI. The Tigers will go with Morgan, seniors Billy Dressler and Craig Taylor, sophomore John Humphries and junior Nathan Goulding. Humphries shot back-to-back 69’s at the CCLI to finsh in fourth place. Goulding equaled Humphries feat by posting consecutive 69’s on the final day to place 10th. The CCLI was Goulding’s first career action at LSU.
The Gator Invitational will be the first of six spring tournaments for the Tigers, highlighted by the first annual LSU Spring Invitational March 5-6 at the University Club. Jones feels his team is ready to build on the success they enjoyed in the fall and do even more this spring.
“We met some goals this fall and exceeded some goals, and we can now go into the spring with some momentum.”