ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The LSU men’s golf team wrapped up its preparation for the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championships on Thursday with a practice round at 7:15 a.m. CDT and is set to open play Friday at the picturesque Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club. The course will play to a par 70 and 6,898 yards for the championship.
This marks the sixth straight season that the Seaside Course has played host to perhaps the most competitive conference championship in college golf as six of the 12 teams enter the weekend ranked in the latest Golfstat Top 30 led by No.1 Georgia.
“If you go strictly by the rankings, the SEC is one of the deepest conferences in the country this season,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “This year’s championship features some of the top teams in the country and should be a great tournament for our guys to compete in.”
Participants will face perhaps their most difficult challenge of the season at the Seaside Course, which reopened in 1999 under the direction of world-renown golf course architect Tom Fazio. The course presents a challenge with every hole due to its fast greens and the region’s signature tidal creeks, sand dunes, salt marshes and nearby St. Simons Sound.
“This might be the most demanding course we’ve seen this year relative to hitting it straight off the tee and knowing the speed of the greens,” Winstead said. “It’s a little different than what we prepare on each day, but it’s not something we haven’t seen this year. It’s similar in some ways to what we saw at Bulls Bay last month.
“Our preparation in the practice round focused more on trying to adapt to the pace of the greens and the situations around the greens than knowing where to hit the ball. Several of the guys have already played this course before, so they know where they need to play the ball on each hole.”
Four Tigers are making their return to Sea Island led by junior Chris Wells, who finished in a tie for 31st a season ago. Sophomores Brent Struthers and Beck Troutman each tied for 37th, while senior Andrew Lanahan tied for 48th in 2004. Sophomore Brian Noonan is set to make his first appearance in the SEC Championships this weekend.
“This group of guys has done a nice job of preparing throughout the year,” Winstead said. “They’ve shown improvement in their ability to handle the pressure of tournament golf, and we’ll continue to try and help them play to their potential in each and every event. I know they are very excited about playing this weekend.”
LSU boasts one of the proudest traditions in the SEC with 15 conference championships and 16 individual medalists in its history. Former All-American David Toms guided the Tigers to their last SEC Championship in 1987 as a sophomore by winning the individual title for the first and only time in his collegiate career.
LSU finished in a tie for sixth place last year and looks to earn its best finish in the event since tying for fourth place in 2002. Kentucky hopes to defend its title after posting a two-stroke victory over Auburn in 2005 with a 54-hole total of 35-over 875.
The Tigers are paired with Florida and Vanderbilt in the opening round and will tee off beginning at 7 a.m. Live scoring of the event is provided by www.golfstat.com, and highlights will be featured on the Thursday, April 27, edition of SEC-TV at 5:30 p.m. on FSN South, FSN Southwest and SUN Sports.