BATON ROUGE — The final threesome off the team of the first round Friday at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic at the University Club is one that any college tournament would love to have.
And, it may be one that is seen again a month from now in the same location when the U-Club plays host to the NCAA East Regional.
In the 10:06 pairing Friday, Meredith Duncan of LSU will be paired with Sarah Johnston of Alabama and Courtney Swaim of Auburn.
There are all kinds of juicy tidbits to look at. Duncan and Johnston are both from North Louisiana with Duncan a senior from Shreveport and Johnston a senior from Benton. Duncan is the United States Amateur Champion with two collegiate wins this year. Swaim is the No. 4 ranked golfer in the country on the GolfWeek/Sagarin ratings on a team ranked No. 1 in the country in both major polls. Duncan is 12th in the country and Johnston is 16th in the country heading into the final tournament of the regular season.
Last year, Swaim finished third at 2-under 214, with Johnston and Duncan tied for fourth at even par. The threesome finished behind Reilley Rankin of Georgia and Katy Harris of LSU who have both departed the collegiate program.
But those three will be severely challenged by some of the top college golfers in the country who are also part of the field, like Auburn’s Celeste Troche and Kristy McPherson of South Carolina.
LSU, Alabama and Auburn will be paired in the final wave off the front nine, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the 54-hole tournament which runs through Sunday.
This year’s event has 13 teams taking part as LSU looks to win the tournament for the first time in three years. In the 21-year history of the tournament is only happened late in the 1980s when Florida State captured the old LSU-Fairwood Invitational at the Fairwood Country Club.
Admission for the event is free and live scoring for the event will be available on the Internet at www.lsusports.net and www.golfstat.com.