BATON ROUGE – Fans tuning in to Golf Channel this week will be treated to a rematch of last year’s NCAA Final Four of match play as the network hosts NCAA Champion LSU, NCAA runner-up Southern California and fellow semifinalists Georgia and Illinois in the inaugural East Lake Cup beginning Monday at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.
While the Tigers join Georgia, Illinois and USC in the men’s competition, the inaugural East Lake Cup will also feature the four women’s semifinalists from last season’s NCAA Championships as NCAA champion Stanford headlines a women’s field that also includes runner-up Baylor, Duke and Southern California.
Monday’s semifinals are a true rematch of the NCAA Semifinals of match play as Illinois and USC face one another beginning 9:15 a.m. CT followed by the Tigers and Bulldogs beginning at 10:55 a.m.
The winners of the two semifinal matches will meet in Tuesday’s championship match at 10:45 a.m., while there will also be a consolation match scheduled to begin at 9:05 a.m. Golf Channel will feature live coverage at East Lake Golf Club from 1-4 p.m. CT on Monday and Tuesday, while the network’s Morning Drive and Golf Central news programs will broadcast on-site during the East Lake Cup.
Fans are invited to join in the coverage of the championship on social media by using the #EastLakeCup hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also receive additional coverage from East Lake Golf Club by following @LSUMensGolf on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lsumensgolf and @lsumensgolfteam on Instagram at http://instagram.com/lsumensgolfteam.
Lifting the national championship trophy with a 4-1 victory over the USC Trojans in the NCAA Championship Match back on June 3 is a moment that will live long in the memory for those Tigers wrapping up their season at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, last spring. Three All-Americans in LSU’s title-winning lineup are ready for a rematch at the East Lake Cup as senior Zach Wright, junior Brandon Pierce and junior Eric Ricard will lead the way after going unbeaten in their three matches en route to the national championship in June.
Joining LSU’s upperclassmen in the lineup this week at the East Lake Cup are freshmen standouts Sam Burns and Nathan Jeansonne as they look to go out with a bang in their final event of the 2015 fall season.
After claiming their first SEC Championship in 28 years last April, the Tigers stormed to their fifth national championship in program history as the No. 7 seed in match play after defeating No. 2 seed Vanderbilt and No. 3 seed Georgia by identical 3.5-1.5 margins in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. They then lifted the NCAA Championship trophy with a 4-1 win over USC in the NCAA Championship Match.
The Tigers were crowned NCAA Champions for the fifth time in team history and the first time in 60 years since their last title way back in 1955. They also took home the national title in 1940, 1942 and 1947.
Wright was 3-0 in his three matches at the NCAA Championships last season to push his record to a perfect 5-0 in match play for his career as he also won both matches in LSU’s Final Four run in 2014. Also unbeaten last June were Pierce and Ricard as they posted matching 2-0-1 records in the match play competition to help lead the Tigers to the national championship.
Pairings for Monday’s semifinal at the East Lake Cup were decided on Saturday as LSU will battle Georgia in Match No. 2 with Pierce against Jaime Lopez Rivarola at 10:55 a.m. CT, Burns against Sepp Straka at 11:15 a.m., Wright against Zach Healy at 11:35 p.m., Jeansonne against Greyson Sigg at 11:55 a.m. and Ricard against Lee McCoy at 12:15 a.m.
Semifinal pairings are set! See which Tigers will face Georgia in Monday’s opener at the #EastLakeCup! #GeauxLow pic.twitter.com/hWiskPOY6x
— LSU Men’s Golf (@LSUMensGolf) November 1, 2015
The Bulldogs feature an experienced lineup at the inaugural East Lake Cup as Healy, McCoy, Sigg and Straka all return from their NCAA Championship lineup that advanced to the national semifinals. Rivarola is their one addition as seven of the 10 players between the two teams return from their NCAA Semifinal match on June 2.
The Tigers are looking to wrap up their fall season with their second tournament title of the season after defending their title at their own seventh-annual David Toms Intercollegiate back on Oct. 11. That is where they posted a winning score of even-par 864 to defend their crown by 16 shots. LSU also placed fourth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic (Sept. 11-13), ninth at the Golfweek Conference Challenge (Sept. 25-27) and tied for 11th at the United States Collegiate Championship (Oct. 16-18) this fall.
Golfstat will provide live match play scoring at the inaugural East Lake Cup as fans can follow the action online at http://golfstat.com. After competing at the East Lake Cup this week, the Tigers will then break for winter before returning to action Feb. 15-17 with a return trip this season to La Quinta, California, for The Prestige at PGA West being held at PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.