LSU Men’s Golf Reaches NCAA Championships With 3rd Place Finish at NCAA Regional

TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES

MARANA, Arizona – The No. 8 LSU men’s golf team played an incredible 12-under 276 round on Wednesday at an NCAA Regional to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California, beginning on May 29.

The Tigers needed to finish in the top five to reach the NCAA field, and they closed the tournament in third with a 30-under performance over the three days on the par 72 Gallery Golf Club. Also qualifying from Marana were No. 18 Arizona, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 29 Duke, and No. 44 Arkansas State.

“The guys played incredibly solid all week,” LSU coach Jake Amos said. “Coming out to the desert and playing at altitude was not ideal, but they just showed how experienced and well rounded they are as a team.”

This week marked redemption for the Tigers after a disappointing finish last season in the NCAA Regional when they finished ninth. LSU’s men last traveled to the NCAA Championships in 2024 where they finished 18^th overall. Two current Tigers from that team, Jay Mendell and Luke Haskew, played this week here.

“We have won a lot this year, and we’ve had a chance to win a lot of events,” Amos said. “We have a top-10 squad that can compete to win a national title. That’s the goal, and that’s the expectation here at LSU.”

Mendell and Noah McWilliams were on fire from start to finish in the desert. Both closed their three rounds at 11-under 205 on Wednesday to tie for sixth on the individual leaderboard. Mendell’s week went 69, 68, 68 as he finished as the second best player on par-four holes (3.73-stroke average) and tied for sixth with 16 total birdies.

McWilliams finished tied for the most birdies in the regional with 18 total, leading to his 69, 69, 67 performance.

Freshman Dan Hayes continued to show his steady hand of play as he finished in the top 20 in the tournament in a tie for 18th with a six-under tournament. He shot 70, 68, 72.

After two bad rounds, Arni Sveinsson bounced back big on day three when the Tigers needed him most. Sveinsson was five over entering Wednesday and was unable to score in the top four prior, but the Icelander recorded a three-under 69 to give them the boost needed across the finish line.

THE TIGERS
T6. Jay Mendell, -11 (69, 68, 68)
T6. Noah McWilliams, -11 (69, 69, 67)
T18. Dan Hayes, -6 (70, 68, 72)
T43. Arni Sveinsson, +2 (74, 75, 69)
73. Matty Dodd-Berry, n/a (71, 74, –)
76. Luke Haskew, n/a (–, –, 79)

TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. #18 Arizona, -49 (277, 264, 274)
2. #5 Oklahoma State, -35 (277, 274, 278)
3. #8 LSU, -30 (279, 279, 276)
T4. Arkansas State, -24 (281, 274, 285)
T4. Duke, -24 (282, 280, 278)
– – – NCAA Team-Qualifier Cutoff – – –
6. #20 Alabama, -23 (286, 278, 277)
7. Clemson, -21 (292, 277, 274)
8. West Virginia, -5 (294, 282, 283)
9. St. Mary’s (CA), -3 (292, 290, 279)
10. Tarleton State, +4 (291, 292, 285)
11. San Diego State, +5 (299, 289, 281)
12. Florida Gulf Coast, +11 (297, 289, 289)
13. Iona, +18 (302, 283, 297)
14. North Dakota State, +23 (303, 289, 295)