BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s golf team welcomes 16 teams to Baton Rouge on Friday to compete in the fifth-annual LSU Spring Invitational at the University Club. This will mark the end of the regular season schedule for the Tigers.
LSU is looking to defend its team title from a year ago when they overcame a 12-stroke deficit in the final round to defeat the Furman Paladins by one with a tournament record 13-under par 851 in three rounds. The Tigers have captured the team championship in each of the tournament’s first four years of existence.
However, LSU head coach Greg Jones believes that his team must focus on the task at hand rather than the team’s success in the past.
“Their focus should be playing the course and shooting some low numbers,” Jones said. “We should not worry so much about winning the tournament. We’re not worried about the scoreboard in terms of what other teams shoot. We’re worried about the scoreboard in terms of what we can shoot.”
The course will play to a par 72 and 7,274 yards for the championship. Joining the Tigers in the 17-team field are Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Furman, Jacksonville State, Lamar, Louisiana-Lafayette, Maryland, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, South Alabama, South Florida, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Miss, Texas-Arlington and Tulane.
“There are a lot of teams here that are battling for regional bids,” Jones said. “This is a big tournament for teams like Lamar and Texas-Arlington in terms of their region in the Texas area. Some of these schools are looking for some momentum heading into their conference events.”
The Tigers are coming off their best performance of the season with a fifth-place finish in the inaugural Hootie at Bull’s Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C., earlier this week. LSU recorded a 24-over 876 for the tournament, including a team best 3-over 287 in the second round. Senior Heath West and sophomore Chris Wells paced the Tigers, finishing in ninth and a tie for 10th, respectively.
“This tournament gives us a chance to build some confidence and sharpen some parts of our game heading into the SECs,” Jones said. “We’re starting to show a little more consistency, and we need to build on that.”
Along with West and Wells, the Tigers will play with a lineup featuring senior Brandon Aydlett, sophomore Garrett Runion and freshman Beck Troutman. Seniors Jeff Riemann and Jake Shaw, junior Aaron Smith and freshman Brent Struthers will compete as individuals.
West and Wells have recorded all eight top-10 finishes for the Tigers this season with Wells earning five and West adding three. Wells also leads the Tigers with a 72.55 stroke average in 27 rounds, while the two have each carded 11 rounds of par or better.
The first round starts Friday with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. and running through 9:52 a.m. The Tigers are paired with Texas-Arlington and Memphis and will start from the first tee beginning at 8:40 a.m.
“It’s always great to play in your home event at your own course against some good competition,” Jones said. “Our expectation is to shoot low scores, to play this course well, to be sharp, focused, and aggressive, and our guys are looking forward to the challenge.”
After the Spring Invitational, LSU will break for a week before returning to action in the 2005 Southeastern Conference Championships in Sea Island, Ga., April 15-17.