BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 2 ranked LSU men’s golf team is set to play their first tournament of the spring season in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, this weekend at the 33rd Puerto Rico Classic, hosted by Purdue.

The event is set to be played at the par-72, 7,152-yard Grand Reserve Golf Course. It is one of only two championship courses in the Caribbean.

The Tigers enter this week as one of five ranked teams competing in Rio Grande. Virginia is the top ranked team in the field at No. 1, setting up a battle of the top two teams in the country.

LSU enters the spring season on a heater with their No. 2 national ranking and winning three of four fall tournaments before closing 2025. Last time out the Tigers finished with the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational trophy, going 32-under (832) as a lineup.

THE LSU LINEUP
Árni Sveinsson | Sophomore | Garðabær, Iceland
This season: 68.67 stroke avg. in 12 rounds | Career: 69.85 stroke avg. in 48 rounds
Sveinsson heads into the spring season as a Haskins and Ben Hogan watch list member. He closed the fall season with a tournament win as an individual with a 13-under-203 performance at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational. In his three other tournaments during the 2025-26 season, Sveinsson finished in the top 15, including a second-place finish at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup. The Icelander earned two SEC Golfer of the Week honors during the fall and is ranked the No. 8 amateur golfer in the world.  He finished 2024-25 second on the team in stroke average at 70.25 for 36 rounds, making him third best in school history behind Sam Burns (2016-17) and Algot Kleen (2024-25).

Noah McWilliams | Junior | Benton, La.
This season: 69.17 stroke avg. in 12 rounds | Career: 72.35 stroke avg. in 48 rounds
McWilliams recorded three top-10 individual finishes during the fall season, topped by a T2 finish at the Bryan Bros Collegiate with an 11-under 202. He averaged 72.48 for 21 rounds with nine rounds of par or under this past season. The junior scored his first-collegiate win in the Bayou City Collegiate at 12-under par 204, against a field of 81 (67-66-71).

Matty Dodd-Berry | Senior | Wirral, England
This season: 69.58 stroke avg. in 12 rounds | Career: 71.11 stroke avg. in 36 rounds
Dodd-Berry saved his best for last as the Tigers closed the fall, recording an 11-under 205 to finish fourth overall at the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational. During Fallen Oak he recorded LSU’s best single round to par this year with a nine-under 63. He appeared in 24 rounds this past season, averaging 71.88 with nine rounds of par or under. He finished 13th at the SEC Championships at 5-under 205 (67-67-71).

Dan Hayes | Freshman | Manchester, England
This season: 70.17 stroke avg. in 12 rounds | Career: 70.17 stroke avg. in 12 rounds
Hayes has had four top-25 finishes through four tournaments played in his collegiate career, last going four under to finish T13 at the Fallen Oak Collegiate. The England native has earned three Freshman of the Week honors so far during the 2025-26 season. He signed with LSU as the number one junior in Europe. Golf Channel tabbed him a preseason All-Freshmen entering the season.

Jay Mendell | Junior | Lafayette, La.
This season: 70.44 stroke avg. in 9 rounds | Career: 71.61 stroke avg. in 84 rounds
Mendell has been in the lineup for three of four tournaments this season entering the weekend. His best performance of the year so far came at the Bryan Bros Collegiate where he recorded an 11-under 202 to finish T2. This past year he was named All-Southeast Region by the Golf Coaches Association of America after a year in which her stroke average dropped from 72.36 in 2024 to 71.08 in 2025. In 36 rounds this past season, he averaged 71.08 strokes per round with 24 rounds under par.

THE LSU INDIVIDUALS
Hudson Lawson | Freshman | Haleyville, Ala.
This season: 71.67 stroke avg. in 9 rounds | Career: 71.67 stroke avg. in 9 rounds
Lawson competed in three tournaments as an individual this season. His best performance in the fall came at the Bryan Bros Collegiate where he recorded a one-under 212 to finish T24. He was the 32nd ranked prospect in his class, and has had a decorated junior career. Lawson was a first team all-state selection all four years of his high school career, and was a National Golf High School All-American as a senior. Lawson also earned the North Alabama Player of the Year award in three consecutive seasons from 2022-2024.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS [National ranking]
Ranked: Virginia [#1], LSU [#2], Oklahoma [#14], Tennessee [#18], Louisville [#29]
Unranked: Marquette, Wisconsin, North Florida, College of Charleston, South Carolina, Purdue, Louisville, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota

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