Tiger Rag News Services
The No. 8 LSU Men’s Golf team finished the first day of play with a five-under performance, sitting at T10 on the team leaderboard at the SEC Championship. The event is played at the par-70, 7,005-yard Sea Island Golf Club.
A strong close that included eight birdies in the final four holes sees the Tigers at T10 a round in.
— LSU Men's Golf (@LSUMensGolf) April 22, 2026
⛳️ Live scoring: https://t.co/DFpOGoGMzN pic.twitter.com/hbWvDV1oj0
An average start to the day for an explosive squad in the LSU Tigers saw them sit near the back as low as 16th at the halfway point on Wednesday. Clawing their way back, the Tigers now sit in T10 due to impressive performances in the final four holes where eight birdies were recorded from the lineup. Par-three and par-four holes are where the Tigers didn’t see their best work, but they excelled in par fives with a 4.60 average as a team.
“We looked a little rusty and a little tentative,” said Head Coach Jake Amos on the first round of play for LSU. “There’s many a time when I wanted to go yell at them and tell them to fire it up, but luckily I let them stick to the process and they started to be rewarded from doing the right things the last few holes.”
Pacing the Tigers on day one of the conference tournament was freshman Dan Hayes, leading from start to finish. Hayes closed with a two-under 68 in his first ever taste of postseason competition. The Englishman recorded three birdies on the day and finished Wednesday with a bogey on hole nine. He has recorded 13 total pars in the tournament so far as he sits in T23.
“All in all, I played well,” said Hayes. “I struggled a bit hitting at the start and then I slowly got into the round and started hitting the ball really well. I gave myself a lot of chances and just misread a couple down the back nine.”
Alongside Hayes at the finish with a two-under 68 was junior Noah McWilliams. The Louisianan had a rough start with two bogeys in the first nine holes but closed with three birdies in the back half. McWilliams leads the Tigers with four birdies total on day one as he sits in T23.
“I got off to a bad start,” said McWilliams. “I played the first nine one over and then I knew I had to get some things firing. I birdied one, hit it stiff and so I held back. Now my wedges are really solid. I didn’t necessarily roll in a whole lot, but kind of just did everything that I needed to.”
Junior Jay Mendell fell in the third spot for the LSU lineup after an 18-hole battle to start his week in St. Simons. Mendell was the first person in the tournament to record an eagle, doing so on his sixth hole of the day (15). He closed with a one-under-69 performance in round one as he recorded two birdies on the final two holes of the day. Mendell closed in T31 on the individual leaderboard.
Closing out the scoring for LSU in the first round was sophomore Arni Sveinsson. The Icelander had a rough start to the morning as he recorded three bogeys on the first nine of the day. Sveinsson closed the back nine with seven pars and two birdies in the middle of the day to close even in T45.
“Noah and Dan played really nice and tidy. Matty, Jay, and Arni looked a little sloppy today, but they fell back in the end,” said Amos. “They started to settle down and get into the rhythm of things a little more. Those two (Noah and Dan) are coming out of the gates nice.”
“We say all the time to be consistent and keep doing the same things and do it well. They did it today and we’re still right in it.”
Two Tigers sit inside the top 25 on the SEC individual leaderboard after 18 holes.
— LSU Men's Golf (@LSUMensGolf) April 22, 2026
⛳️ Live scoring: https://t.co/DFpOGoGMzN pic.twitter.com/VQ3DfpBCsD
THE TIGERS
T23. Dan Hayes, -2 (68)
T23. Noah McWilliams, -2 (68)
T31. Jay Mendell, -1 (69)
T45. Arni Sveinsson, E (70)
T72. Matty Dodd-Berry, +4 (74)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. #12 Ole Miss, -15 (265)
2. #16 Oklahoma, -14 (266)
T3. #1 Auburn, -11 (269)
T3. #3 Florida, -11 (269)
T3. #4 Texas, -11 (269)
6. Mississippi State, -9 (271)
T7. #17 Alabama, -8 (272)
T7. South Carolina, -8 (272)
9. Texas A&M, -6 (274)
T10. #8 LSU, -5 (275)
T10. Missouri, -5 (275)
12. #5 Arkansas, -3 (277)
T13. #11 Vanderbilt, -2 (278)
T13. #14 Tennessee, -2 (278)
15. #25 Georgia, E (280)
16. Kentucky, +5 (285)
Be the first to comment