WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The LSU men’s golf team begins play in the NCAA East Regional on Thursday at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
The Tigers are making their first postseason appearance since 1998, and the first under head coach Greg Jones. The Tigers were sent to the East Region in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 in Daufuskie Island, S.C., where LSU finished 15th. In 1997, LSU advanced to the NCAA Championships following the regional at Lake Forest, Ill.
The 2001 field at the East Regional includes 27 teams, including five of the top 10 teams in the country. The nation’s No. 1 team, the Georgia Bulldogs, will play in the East. Georgia won the Southeastern Conference Championship last month at Sea Island, Ga.
Four SEC teams will join LSU in Williamsburg. Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia, and Florida will play with the Tigers.
LSU’s lineup for the regional includes seniors Alan Morgan, Billy Dressler and Craig Taylor, as well as junior Nathan Goulding and sophomore John Humphries. Morgan was named to the All-SEC First Team last week. Morgan was a member of the second team last season. He leads the team with a 71.3 stroke average, seven top-10 finishes and two individual titles. Morgan participated as an individual at the East Regional last season in Moosic, Pa.
Humphries was named to the All-SEC Second Team this season, and was named to the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll as well. Humphries, an Alexandria native, had 14 rounds of par or better with two top 10 finishes in 2001.
LSU tees off at 11:54 p.m. CDT on Thursday to begin the first round.
The teams will play 18 holes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. LSU will tee off at 8:51 Friday. The top 10 teams from the East, Central, and West Regions will advance to the NCAA Championships May 30-June 1 at Durham, N.C. Duke University will host the 2001 Championships.
East Regional Field: UAB, Auburn, Clemson, Charleston Southern, Duke, East Tennessee State, Florida, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hartford, Iona, LSU, Ole Miss, Maryland-Baltimore Co., North Carolina State, Penn State, Princeton, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Yale.