Baton Rouge, La. – The LSU men’s golf program received National Letters of Intent from three prospective student-athletes during 2019 Signing Week. Nicholas Arcement (Thibodaux, La.), Drew Doyle (Louisville, Ky.) and Hugo Aguilar Puertes (Valencia, Spain) have all signed NLIs and will arrive in Baton Rouge ready to compete for the Tigers in August of 2020.
“This class will bring a lot to our team and program,” Chuck Winstead, director of golf at LSU, said. “This class has all the qualities we look for. Great young men that come from good families. They have not only played very good golf, but they are hungry to improve going forward. I am confident they will make a positive impact here at LSU.
“Nicholas is a Louisiana golfer with a lot of success nationally and is a tough golfer. Drew is one of the top players in this class. His ball striking is superb and is a great fit for our program. Hugo has built a nice reputation to go along with a solid resume in Europe that makes us believe that he will have a positive impact with us here.”
Arcement is a Louisianian from Thibodaux. He won the 2017 LHSAA DII individual title with a two round tally of 5-under 139 to finish three strokes clear of the field at ‘The Wetlands’ in Lafayette, La. He’s won the Louisiana Junior Amateur title twice with the first win coming in 2017 (Tchefuncta Country Club/Covington, La.) and the most recent in 2019 (Bayou Oaks at City Park/New Orleans). Arcement, a righty, checks in currently at No. 15 in the Golfweek 2020 Boys Junior Rankings and No. 53 in the AJGA rankings. He’s picked up two wins on the AJGA circuit dating back to 2017. He captured the title at the 2017 AJGA Junior at Gray Plantation with a three round score of 8-under 208 to finish four shots clear of the field. His most recent AJGA win came this year at the Dominican Junior Open (4-under 212/68-74-70) in May. He also placed in a tie for seventh at the 2019 Junior Players Championship in September at TPC Sawgrass. At the 2019 Louisiana Amateur, Arcement finished in solo third at 2-under 286 at the Baton Rouge Country Club.
Doyle signs his letter of intent as the 73rd-ranked player on the AJGA circuit. Kentucky’s Mr. Golf in 2017, Doyle is a three-time KHSAA First Team All-State honoree in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In the high school ranks, he was named the 2019 KHSAA Region Six Player of the Year while competing for St. Xavier High School. He claimed an AJGA title this July at the Circle K Junior Championship hosted by Otter Creek with a 9-under 207 (67-68-72) to finish four shots clear of the field. He had a pair of impressive top-10 finishes this summer at junior tournaments; he placed tied for fourth at the Memorial Junior (Columbus, Ohio/Scarlet Course) and tied for ninth at the Southern Junior Championship (Lexington, Ky./Idle Hour Country Club). He’s played well on the big stage with a tie for ninth at the 2018 Boys Junior PGA Championship that was hosted at the Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky. He became the youngest player to ever qualify for the Kentucky Amateur Championship as a 13 year old; he went on to claim the 2016 Kentucky Junior Amateur title with a 1-over 145 at the Bardstown Country Club.
Puertes will come to Baton Rouge via Spain. A regular on the Spanish National Team, Puertes checks in at No. 444 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He played himself to a tie for fourth place at the 2019 U18 Spanish Championships at the golf club of Las Pinaillas. He played in both the 2019 R&A Boys Amateur Championship (Saunton, England) and the 2019 Amateur Championship (Portmarnock, Ireland) this summer. A regular on the ever popular RFGA Gecko Tour Series in Spain, Puertes was the top amateur finisher at two of those tournaments this season (RFGA GTS at Villapadierna 1 and RFGA GTS Villapadierna 3). He owns 14 top-10 finishes dating back to the 2017 season including three wins – 2017 Sotogrande International Champion, 2017 Club Panoramica Champion, and 2018 Campeonato Excmo Ayto de Llanes Champion. His best finish of the 2019 campaign was a tie for second at the Barcelona Championship with a four round total of 3-over 291.