TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The 23rd-ranked LSU men’s golf team will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the Conrad Rehling Alabama Spring Invitational Friday through Sunday at the Capstone Club, hosted by the University of Alabama.
The tournament will be LSU’s fourth tournament of the spring. The Tigers started the spring with a win at the Gator Invitational in February, finished seventh at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, and won the LSU Spring Invitational two weeks ago. Poor weather in the Baton Rouge area forced the 20-team field to play just one round at the Spring Invitational , with the Tigers firing a 9-under 279 to place first.
Thirteen teams will join LSU for the tournament this weekend. The teams will play one round on each day of the tournament, Friday through Sunday at the par-71 6,996 yard course. Four teams which placed in the top five last season return for this season’s event. The College of Charleston won the tournament last year by five strokes over Alabama. Six teams in District III South, LSU’s district, will compete this weekend.
“This is a very important tournament for our team because there are several teams competing that are in our district, and it is getting to be that time where we are concerned with getting to a regional and picking up some wins against those teams,” said LSU head coach Greg Jones.
LSU will go with a lineup of John Humphries, Nathan Goulding, Garrett Prather, Heath West, and Jason Horrell. It will be a homecoming for West, a true freshman from Dothan, Ala., and also a matchup of two of the best freshman in the nation. Alabama’s Clint Provost and West played against one another in high school and are battling for Southeastern Conference Freshman of the year honors.
LSU has won the tournament twice, in 1994 and 1996. In 1994 the tournament was called the Southeastern Invitational, and in 1996 the name was the Blue-Gray Intercollegiate.
“We are looking to have all five guys shoot well this tournament, and take the pressure off of one or two guys feeling like they have to carry the load. This is a crucial tournament for us, so I am hoping for a good weekend,” said Jones.
2002 Field: LSU, Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham, College of Charleston, Illinois, Kentucky, Miami-Ohio, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Carolina, Toledo, Vanderbilt