BATON ROUGE-The No. 15 LSU Men’s Golf team will begin play at the Valero Texas Collegiate in San Antonio, Texas this Saturday.
The Tigers will take on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio along with fourteen other teams in the field. The course will play as a 7,435 yard par 72 with challenging holes that feature tree-lined fairways and steep, sloping greens. TPC San Antonio is also the host of the Valero Texas Open, a PGA Tour event that takes place each Spring.
There will be a strong field of teams competing, with LSU being one of eight top-25 teams in the tournament according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll. The field will feature Auburn (1), Virginia (3), Vanderbilt (4), Tennessee (6), Oklahoma (8), Ole Miss (12), LSU (15), Georgia (21), SMU, Mississippi State, Clemson, TCU, North Florida, UTSA and ETSU.
LSU will begin play at the Valero after a season-opening team win at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate. The Tigers fired a 23-under 817 over 54 holes of play to claim a two stroke victory over fellow SEC team Ole Miss. After beginning the season unranked, LSU rose into the top-25 after the victory in Knoxville. Currently ranked 15th, the Tigers will look to improve their ranking with a solid performance in San Antonio this weekend.
Senior Algot Kleen earned an individual title, firing a 12-under 198 to earn his third collegiate individual win. Kleen is currently ranked No. 40 in the World Amateur Golf rankings and was the SEC Golfer of the Week for his first LSU performance.
The Tigers saw contribution all around the lineup in their opening victory. Matthew Dodd-Berry ended the tournament at 4-under, while Alfons Bondesson finished the event at 2-under. In a fall slate where the strength of schedule is very strong, LSU showed their ability to compete with top teams early.
LSU’s number one will be Algot Kleen after a great showing at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate. Junior Matthew Dodd-Berry and sophomore Jay Mendell will come in at the number two and three spots, respectively. Junior Alfons Bondesson and freshman Gunnlaugur Árni Sveinsson will round out the lineup, and sophomore Noah McWilliams will compete as an individual.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are the reigning champions of the Valero Texas Collegiate and will look to defend their title this weekend. Last year, LSU finished the tournament in sixth place after a 2-over 866 showing.
Fans can follow @lsumensgolf on all social platforms for updates, while Golfstat.com will provide live scoring for the event.