The 7-seeded LSU men’s golf team is set to tee off in round one of NCAA Regionals on its home course at University Club as it welcomes 13 other teams and 5 individuals to Baton Rouge.
“UC (University Club) is a very unique challenge,” said interim head coach Andrew Nelson. “The golf course is very long, you have to be able to hit the driver and long irons well. When you have short clubs in your hand, the greens present their own challenges. Our greens have a lot of slope and pitch, the short game needs to be sharp to get the ball close to the hole and to hole putts from 3-6 feet.”
The challenging 18-hole, par-72 course at University Club plays to 7,401 yards from its championship tees and features wide fairways bordered by pine hammocks and native grasses, in addition to 2,000 feet of beautiful bulkhead. The golf course was redesigned in 2010 by LSU legend David Toms and its original architect, Jim Lipe. The difficult track is carved into nearly 300 acres of Louisiana’s natural wetlands and just seven miles South of the LSU campus.
“We get to play and compete here everyday,” said Nelson. “We know what’s coming, we know the challenges of the golf course and how to handle them. Playing at home is certainly an advantage and we are excited to host and compete at University Club.”
The last time LSU hosted an NCAA Regional at the University Club, The Tigers finished on top by an 8-stroke margin at 2-over 866. The Regional in 2020 was scheduled to be held in Baton Rouge, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam Burns led LSU at 4-under 212 to be named the individual medalist in the 2017 Baton Rouge Regional. Burns went on to be named the 2017 NCAA Division I Jack Niklaus National Player of the Year.
The Tigers will look to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2019. LSU has won five NCAA Team Championships, most recently in 2015. Last year, the Tigers competed in the NCAA Regional located in Norman, Okla. where they finished in 8th place at 9-under 855. Drew Doyle finished the tournament tied for seventh at 8-under 208 and just one stroke away from being able to compete in an individual playoff to advance to the NCAA Championship.
Graduate Conor Gaunt will look to continue the best season of his career after having a stroke average over 73 in her first three seasons in Baton Rouge. Gaunt has finished in the top five six times this season through 33 rounds in all 11 events.
Mendell was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team earlier this week after he has proven his skill in his first year of collegiate 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.
Alex Price will make his 10th appearance of the season on Monday. Price has a season stroke average of 72.93 through 27 rounds. Price won his first tournament as a Tiger back in September at the Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff where he fired an 11-under 205. Price will be competing in his first NCAA Postseason as a division I golfer.
Baton Rouge natives Lance Yates and Luke Haskew will round out the starting five for LSU. Yates and Haskew grew up playing at University Club and know it better than most. Yates has made 10 starts for LSU this year, all six this Spring. Haskew will join the lineup for the sixth time this year. In his last outing he subbed for Doyle at the SEC Championship and went on to shoot the lowest round on LSU’s team card with a 1-under 69 in round two. Doyle will serve as the LSU alternate.
“The guys are excited and love the opportunity to play at home and in front of home fans,” added Nelson. “LSU fans are the best in the country and we can’t wait to compete here in Baton Rouge.” Nelson’s message is simple, “Play this place like you’re qualifying. Play with confidence. And play to beat people.”
Fans are encouraged to come out to the University Club over the next three days as world class golf will be on display and admission to the tournament is free.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted to determine the 30 qualifying teams and six individuals (not on those qualifying teams) who will compete in the finals. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams will advance to the finals. The 2024 national championships will be hosted by the University of Texas at Austin and held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa on May 24-28 in Carlsbad, Calif.
Golfers will tee of on holes No. 1 and No. 10 starting as early as 8:00 a.m. each day. Groups, pairings, and live scoring is available at Golfstat.com and fans can follow along on all social media platforms @lsumensgolf.
Baton Rouge Regional Teams:
- 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
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