BATON ROUGE – On Wednesday, the NCAA announced the field for the six NCAA Regional sites. LSU is seeded No. 7 in the Baton Rouge Regional where it will host 13 other teams on its home track at University Club.
“We are excited to compete at home,” said interim head coach Andrew Nelson. “UC is special to us, our fan base and our alums. We can’t wait to play in a regional here in Baton Rouge. The golf course looks really good, I’m thankful to the UC staff and its members. The course is ready to host a Championship.”
The regional will take place May 13th-15th, and the top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship tournament in Carlsbad, California at the Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa. The Championship will begin Friday May 24th and conclude with match play on the 28th-29th.
The NCAA regional tournament is a three day stroke play event with 18 holes scheduled each day to determine the top five teams that go to nationals. The top individual who does not qualify with their team will also advance to compete for the individual championship.
LSU has picked up three wins this season and earned seven team finishes inside the top five. The Tigers won their season opener in September at the Golfweek Collegiate kickoff in Cape Girardeau where Alex Price took home individual honors in his first division I event. LSU won again in the Fall season finale at the Everett GMC Buick Classic in Little Rock where Arkansas native, Connor Gaunt, led LSU with a tie for third finish at 7-under 209. LSU’s most recent win was in March when it won by six-strokes in The Hootie at Bulls Bay.
Gaunt leads the Tigers with a 70.94 stroke average this season. Gaunt led the team at 20 rounds a par or lower and has recorded six top five finishes this season. The graduate student has played the best golf of his career in his final season.
Jay Mendell follows Gaunt at 71.91 in his first season of college golf. Mendell has been named SEC Freshman of the Week five times this year. The Freshman has five top ten finishes and in two of those he finishes at the very top of the leaderboard.
Drew Doyle boasts a 71.91 stroke average this season through 22 rounds of action. The senior has finished in the top three once this season through 8 events and holds the best career average on the team at 71.87.
The SEC Champions, Auburn, will make the trip to Baton Rouge as the top seed. The Auburn Tigers are led by freshman Jackson Koivun who won the individual title at the SEC Championship.
“Auburn has been really good all year. Congrats to them on the SEC Title,” added Nelson. “I’m looking forward to seeing how our group looks against them and the other good teams coming this way. The regional is a great test and we are preparing for that test.”
Other teams in the field in Baton Rouge include Virginia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Duke, Ohio State, Louisville, Houston, South Carolina, Lipscomb, Yale, Loyola Maryland, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Seeds eleven through fourteen won their respective conference tournaments.
University Club will play as a 7,401-yard par 72 for the regional tournament. The course was designed by LSU golf Legend, David Toms, and LSU alumni JimLipe. The track challenges golfers’ ball striking ability as it winds through the Louisiana wetlands.
Baton Rouge Regional Teams:
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- Auburn
- Virginia
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Duke
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Louisville
- Houston
- South Carolina
- Lipscomb
- Yale
- Loyola Maryland
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Individuals (seeded in the following order):
- Alex Goff, Kentucky
- Max Sturdza, Florida Atlantic
- Nilo Maki-Petaja, La. Tech
- Hugo Thyr, South Alabama
- Archie Smith, Little Rock