BREMERTON, Wash. — The future of the LSU men’s golf program has been on display during the 2007-08 season, and five Tigers will see their first postseason action this weekend as they tee it up in the NCAA West Regional beginning Thursday at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
LSU has earned the right to compete in NCAA postseason play for the first time since 2005 when it qualified for the NCAA West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Tigers are one of 27 teams to make the trip to the Olympic Course this weekend as they will compete as the No. 13 seed in this year’s field. The top 10 teams and the top two individuals not among the top 10 teams will advance to compete in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships to be held at Boilermaker Golf Club in West Lafayette, Ind., from May 28-31.
Brian Noonan is the lone Tiger senior to crack the starting lineup for the NCAA West Regional as he will be joined by junior Jarrod Barsamian and freshmen Andrew Loupe, John Peterson and Clayton Rotz. Each is making his first NCAA regional appearance in an LSU uniform.
The trio of Loupe, Peterson and Rotz has led LSU’s effort throughout the 2007-08 campaign as each was honored last week by the Southeastern Conference for his performance by being named one of eight members of the inaugural SEC All-Freshman Team.
They have proven to be among the nation’s premier freshman classes this season as they currently rank No. 3 in the country in the latest Golfstat Top 25 Freshman Class Impact Ranking.
“I know the guys are looking forward to getting on the golf course and competing for a spot in the NCAA Championships,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “There is no doubt that if they play like they’re capable of playing then they can reach that goal. This group of guys is not going to be uncomfortable with playing in an NCAA regional for the first time.
“The biggest challenge they’ll face this weekend is how quickly they get comfortable on the golf course. The sooner they get acclimated to the course and the conditions, the more success they’re going to have. I’m confident that they will do just that.”
The Tigers will tee off in the afternoon wave beginning at 3:05 p.m. CDT during Thursday’s first round as they will start play on the front nine with Oregon State and Pepperdine. The threesome will tee off from the back nine in Friday’s second round beginning at 10:35 a.m.
The top seed in the West Regional is the nation’s No. 2 overall seed in Southern California, while No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Clemson round out the top five.
Rounding out the 27-team regional field in order of seeding are UNLV, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Central Florida, Arizona State, San Diego State, Texas, LSU, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Oregon, California, St. Mary’s, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Washington, Oklahoma, Kansas State, San Diego, Denver, Navy and Columbia.
The Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club, which will play to a par 72 and a lengthy 7,111 yards for the championship, has played host to a number of prestigious tournaments since opening in 1996, including the 81st U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2006.
The Olympic Course is one of three regional sites as Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., will play host to the NCAA East Regional and the Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio, will play host to the NCAA Central Regional this weekend.
“We’re going to be competing against a great field on a great golf course, and our guys will come away from this weekend as better players after competing in a tournament like this,” Winstead said. “The forecast is a little cold and rainy for the practice round, but it’s supposed to clear up a little bit for the tournament. We’re looking forward to an exciting weekend of golf.”
Following Thursday’s first round and Friday’s second round, the 54-hole championship will wrap up with the third and final round on Saturday. Live scoring of each round of the 2008 NCAA West Regional can be found online by logging on to www.golfstat.com or www.gohuskies.com.