LSU’s men’s golf team got off to a slow start through its first three tournaments of the fall, dropping from No. 9 to No. 17 in Golfweek’s Division I Coaches Poll.
This comes as a surprise after the Tigers finished last season ranked No. 7 after some strong tournament wins, capped off by a top-half finish at the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship. Last year, LSU finished its first three tournaments of the year much better, securing 2 tournament wins and a third-place finish.
Through their first three tournaments, the Tigers placed No. 12 at the Inverness Intercollegiate, No. 9 at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational, and No. 7 at the Bryan Bros Collegiate, after winning the year prior.
These placements are even more disappointing when looking at who the Tigers placed behind. At the Inverness Intercollegiate and the Bryan Bros Collegiate, LSU placed behind four unranked teams.
These poor outings against teams most critics didn’t see as near LSU’s level caused LSU to drop eight spots, the largest downgrade of any program in the top 25.
The overlying issue for LSU through the beginning of this season is the absence of preseason All-American Arni Sviensson, who’s struggled with injuries over the summer.
Sviensson was LSU’s breakout star last year and is the cornerstone for the Tigers. The sophomore posted a 70.39 stroke average through 31 rounds last year, leading him to multiple freshman honors.
In his absence, head coach Jake Amos has given opportunities to some younger prospects.
Redshirt sophomore Dylan Kayne played in both the Inverness Intercollegiate and the Fighting Illini Invitational, after only playing in two tournaments last season. Kayne struggled at the Inverness Intercollegiate, where he ended up tied for the lowest-scoring LSU golfer at 12 strokes over par.
Despite the rough start, Kayne outperformed his first tournament drastically in Illinois, where he shot one under par, placing him as the fourth-best Tiger at the tournament.
Amos then chose freshman star Austin Randall to play in the Bryan Bros Collegiate, where he’d play great, placing tied at 42nd overall with a +4 score.
Outside of these additions, Sviensson’s absence has also opened up major playing opportunities for pre-season freshman All-American John Doyle.
Doyle was a highly praised recruit going into this season and has quickly made his mark on this Tigers roster. Doyle shot eight over par in his first tournament at Inverness, the second-best score of all the Tigers, while also placing him tied at 36th overall.
This performance also made Doyle the first LSU golfer this season to shoot under 70 on the final day at Inverness, marking the Irishman’s first top-10 finish through a day of golf.
Overall, despite a slow start, LSU men’s golf still has plenty of talent across the board that should turn up as they move through the season. Sviennson’s absence is a huge weakness, but one that should fully dissolve once the Icelander returns. In the meantime, Amos needs to keep working his magic with his young stars as the Tigers fight for a surge back up in the rankings.
The Tigers will now have a short break until Oct. 17, when they’ll participate in the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational. There, they will try to repeat their success from last year, after tying with Alabama for first place while shooting 32 under par.