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Men's Golf Signs Elite Class, Nation's No. 1Men's Golf Signs Elite Class, Nation's No. 1

Men's Golf Signs Elite Class, Nation's No. 1

Men’s Golf Signs Elite Class, Nation’s No. 1

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Men’s Golf program has added immediate firepower to its 2015-16 lineup with the signing of the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit in Sam Burns (Shreveport, Louisiana) along with top-10 national recruit Nathan Jeansonne (Keithville, Louisiana) and top-20 national recruit Luis Gagne (Orlando, Florida) to National Letters of Intent as part of a heralded Class of 2015.

The Tigers have enjoyed a year to remember in 2014 as they have capitalized on their success on the golf course by signing arguably the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class for the 2015-16 season.

They continue their momentum from the 2014 spring season in which the Tigers were the runners-up at the SEC Championships before advancing to the NCAA Final Four in match play at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships and the 2014 fall season in which they captured tournament titles at the Golfweek Conference Challenge and David Toms Intercollegiate en route to a No. 5 national ranking.

“I’m very excited about this class,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “These young men are very talented. Not only are they gifted, but they are also quality people from great families. They are exactly the type of men we want representing LSU and our men’s golf program. I fully expect them to make an impact on our program from the time they arrive on campus next fall.”

Burns and Jeansonne both hail from Shreveport’s Calvary Baptist Academy, which they have led to five-straight Louisiana High School Athletics Association state championships from 2010-14 in their junior careers.

Burns joins the program as the No. 1-ranked high school recruit in the United States in the Class of 2015 and the top-ranked junior golfer nationally regardless of class in both the Golfweek Junior Golf Rankings and Polo Junior Golf Rankings released prior to National Signing Day. He has also catapulted himself into the No. 12 ranking with the release of the most recent World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Burns capitalized on a brilliant 2014 season as a member of the American Junior Golf Association by being named the Rolex Junior Player of the Year as the premier player in all of junior golf in the United States.

The 2014 AJGA Rolex First-Team Junior All-American emerged as the top-ranked junior golfer in the country in the wake of victories in two of the major championships on the junior calendar with his wins at the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions at Richland Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee, in June and this year’s Junior PGA Championship at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas, in July. Burns actually took home his Rolex Tournament of Champions title with a tournament-record score of 21-under par 267 in 72 holes.

Burns followed those victories by earning a pair of fifth-place finishes in two other top AJGA events at The Junior PLAYERS Championship and The PING Invitational to solidify his No. 1 national ranking for 2014.

A standout in match play, Burns was also the catalyst in leading the United States to a commanding 16-8 victory over the Europeans at the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup with an unbeaten 2-0-1 mark in three matches played at Scotland’s Blairgowie Golf Club back in September. He has also helped guide the West squad to back-to-back wins at the AJGA’s prestigious Wyndham Cup competition in 2013 and 2014.

A three-time Louisiana state champion at Calvary Baptist Academy, Burns inks with the Tigers as a three-time AJGA Rolex Junior All-American as an honorable mention selection in 2012, a second-team selection in 2013 and a first-team selection in 2014. He has earned a total of 17 top-10 finishes to date in AJGA-sponsored events during his junior career.

Burns’ summer schedule was also highlighted by a run to the Round of 32 of match play as the No. 5 seed at the 114th United States Amateur Championship held at the Atlanta Athletic Club back in August. He claimed a No. 5 seed in match play after tying for third place in 36 holes of stroke play in a field of more than 300 of the top amateur golfers from around the world at this year’s U.S. Amateur.

“Sam is an exceptional talent,” Winstead said of the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit. “The No. 1-ranked junior golfer in the country and No. 12-ranked amateur in the world, his body of work speaks for itself.”

Calvary Baptist Academy features two of the nation’s Top 10 recruits this season as the Tigers have also signed Jeansonne to a National Letter of Intent as part of its heralded Class of 2015. Jeansonne joins the program as the No. 6-ranked recruit nationally in the Golfweek Junior Golf Rankings, as well as the No. 13-ranked recruit in the class in both the National Junior Golf Scoreboard Boys Rankings and Polo Junior Golf Rankings.

A decorated member of the American Junior Golf Association in his own right, Jeansonne was recently honored as an AJGA Rolex Second-Team Junior All-American for his outstanding performance in 2014. He secured three top-10 finishes in eight starts in AJGA events during the 2014 season, including a runner-up finish at the 2014 AJGA Goodman Networks Junior at Traditions.

Jeansonne is a two-time AJGA champion during his career at the 2012 Sooner Junior All-Star held in Oklahoma and the 2013 AJGA David Toms Foundation Shreveport Junior held at Southern Trace Country Club.

While Burns took home the individual title at the 2014 Junior PGA Championship, Jeansonne cracked the Top 10 of the final leaderboard in the event by tying for seventh place in one of the major championships of the junior golf season. He also advanced to the Round of 32 of match play at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship held this summer at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.

Jeansonne joined Burns in leading the West squad to a defense of its title at the AJGA’s Wyndham Cup in 2014 while posting an impressive 3-1 record in four matches played during the competition.

“Nathan has really grown into his own,” Winstead shared of the Louisiana native. “He’s one of the most improved players in the country over the last year, and he’s earned the reputation as one of the very best junior golfers in the country. His future is very bright, and we’re excited to welcome him into our program here at LSU.”

Perhaps no member from the Class of 2015 has enjoyed an ending to his high school career quite like Gagne as he fired his career-best nine-hole score of 8-under par 28 to take the title in his 2014 regular-season finale held at North Shore Golf Club in Orlando before being crowned the 2014 Florida High School Athletics Association Class 1A State Champion in his final appearance for Orlando Christian Prep.

The 2014 season has seen Gagne emerge as one of the top-20 recruits nationwide in the Class of 2015 as he signs with the Tigers as the No. 16-ranked recruit nationally in the latest National Junior Golf Scoreboard Boys Rankings and the No. 17-ranked recruit nationally in the current Polo Junior Golf Rankings. He is also the No. 22-ranked recruit in the class in the Golfweek Junior Golf Rankings.

Gagne’s performance in 2014 earned him a selection as an AJGA Rolex Honorable Mention Junior All-American on the strength of a tie for 10th place at this year’s AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions in June.

Gagne highlighted his 2014 season by tying for second place on the final leaderboard at the 97th Western Junior Championship held at Flossmoor Country Club in Flossmoor, Illinois. He has also competed during the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in each of the last two seasons, advancing to the Round of 32 of match play in 2013 before teeing it up in stroke-play qualifying in 2014 in one of the nation’s premier junior events.

“Our golf program is very fortunate that Luis is headed our way,” Winstead quipped of signing the Orlando, Florida, native to a National Letter of Intent. “Luis has had some tremendous tournaments over the past year exhibiting just how gifted he is. I fully expect that Luis will make a major impact on our program during his time in Baton Rouge.”