BATON ROUGE – LSU’s SEC and NCAA Championship men’s golf program has been built on attracting the very best recruits from across the country each season, and the Tigers are excited to have two of the nation’s best right in their own back yard in Louisiana sign their National Letters of Intent with the addition of Drew Gonzales and Carter Toms.
Gonzales hails from St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette and Toms joins from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport as both will compete with the Tigers as true freshmen during the 2016-17 season.
“We are excited to have Carter and Drew join our program here at LSU,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead of their signing. “Both of these young men are not only tremendous golfers, but really good students from great families. It will be great to add two quality young men who have loved LSU their entire lives. I expect both Carter and Drew to have outstanding careers in our golf program.”
Gonzales signs his National Letter of Intent with the Tigers in the wake of a 2015 season in which he finished just one shot short of qualifying for match play at the United States Junior Amateur Championship hosted at Colleton River Plantation Club in South Carolina last summer. He earned his spot in the field by firing 7-under par 137 at the U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier at Hot Springs Country Club in Arkansas.
Gonzales emerged as one of Louisiana’s rising stars as a sophomore in 2014 when he claimed a third-place finish at the Louisiana Golf Association Junior Amateur Championship held that season at Links on the Bayou in Alexandria where he fired a 9-under par 207 in three rounds, including a 4-under 68 in the final round.
The Lafayette native has also enjoyed great success while competing as part of the American Junior Golf Association during his youth career, including four top-15 finishes in an outstanding 2014 campaign.
Gonzales placed fourth at the 2014 AJGA Arrowhead Junior at The Bluffs in St. Francisville, Louisiana, for his best AJGA finish of the season, while also finishing in sixth place at the Killington Junior Golf Championship, in ninth place at the AJGA St. Louis Junior and in 14th place at the BillardFactory.com Junior Championship hosted by PR during the 2014 season.
Gonzales’ freshman season at St. Thomas More High School in 2013 was highlighted by winning the Louisiana Division II individual state championship and the Louisiana Tournament of Champions that season.
Like Gonzales, Toms has also finished as high as third place at the LGA Junior Amateur Championship during his junior golf career as he fired 3-under 141 in 36 holes for the bronze medal in the event held back in July at Carter Plantation in Springfield. He has also added two other top-20 finishes in the tournament with 16th place as a freshman in 2013 and 18th place as a sophomore in 2014.
Toms has led his team at C.E. Byrd High School to back-to-back Louisiana Division I state championships in 2014 and 2015 while earning a career-best state finish of fourth place to highlight his sophomore season. He has also enjoyed great success while competing on some of the nation’s top junior tours, including winning two tournaments on the Arrowhead Junior Golf Tour at Sherwood Forest in 2012 and The Island in 2014 and a Top 10 finish by tying for eighth place at the 2013 Arrowhead AJGA Junior at The Bluffs.
Toms most recently competed at the 2015 Junior PGA Championship at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas, highlighted by a score of 1-under 71 in the second round. He is also set to compete for the West squad at the Louisiana Junior Cup for the third time in December after also appearing in the tournament twice before in 2013 and 2014.
Toms is the son of arguably the greatest player to ever wear the purple and gold as PGA TOUR great David Toms was a three-time All-American, three-time First-Team All-SEC performer and two-time SEC Player of the Year during his collegiate career from 1985-89. David Toms is a 13-time PGA TOUR winner and 2001 PGA Champion during a career in which he has taken home nearly $42 million in earnings.