K-State Takes Hot Streak to Louisiana

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fresh off its second straight top-five finish and an individual championship by Luke O'Neill at the Colleton River Collegiate, the Kansas State men's golf team looks to continue its momentum when the Wildcats travel to Lafayette, Louisiana, for the Louisiana Classics, held Monday and Tuesday at the par-72, 6,898-yard Oakbourne Country Club.

This is the 37th year of the historic event and the fourth time in school history that the Wildcats are part of the field. K-State last competed at the Louisiana Classics in the spring of 2015, the only time they've done so under head coach Grant Robbins.

"We have a quick turnaround this weekend as we head to the Louisiana Classics," Robbins said. "It's a new addition to our schedule this year but it's a tournament and course that I'm pretty familiar with. Oakbourne is a classic golf course that puts a premium on your approach shots. The greens are pretty severe, and when they are at tournament speed like they will be this week, it can really challenge you."

Up for the challenge are Tim Tillmanns, Will Hopkins, O'Neill, Laurenz Schiergen and Cooper Schultz who make up the five in the scoring lineup.

The major story coming into this week for K-State is the play of O'Neill, who carded a 14-under par 202 at the Colleton River Collegiate to tie for first place and claim his first-career individual title. In doing so, he became the first Wildcat to win an individual title since Jermey Gandon at the 2019 Mission Inn Spring Spectacular, while it was the 41st individual championship in school history.

O'Neill's performance included a 6-under par 66 final round and just a single bogey through all three rounds on his way to the fourth best 54-hole score in school history. The sophomore from Connemara, Ireland, will attempt to carry the confidence gained from that performance to Louisiana.

Tillmanns and Hopkins are also coming off strong performances at Colleton River, as the upperclassmen tied for 15th place at 3-under par 213. These two leaders have appeared in the scoring lineup in every event for the Wildcats throughout the 2021-22 campaign and have combined for nine top-10 finishes.

Tillmanns' most recent top-10 finish came this spring at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate where he tied for sixth place at 4-under par 212.

Schriegen, a freshman from Cologne, Germany who joined the Wildcats at semester, has earned his third-straight spot in the lineup after back-to-back top-30 finishes to begin his K-State career.

Schultz will make his spring debut into the lineup after competing as an individual a few weeks back at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate where he tied for 28th at 1-over par 217. This will be the fourth-career scoring lineup appearance for the redshirt freshman from Wichita, Kansas, after being a regular last fall. Schultz's young career is so far highlighted by a top-10 finish in the Old Town Intercollegiate last September with a 7-under par 203.

Joining Kansas State in a 16-team field is host school Louisiana, Houston, Illinois State, Lipscomb, Louisiana Tech, Michigan, Mississippi State, North Texas, Rice, Sam Houston State and UTSA, along with ranked foes in No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 34 LSU and No. 44 Little Rock.

"It will be important for us to be disciplined in our game plan and do our best to keep the ball below the hole as much as possible," Robbins said. "It's a strong field and a tournament that is hugely supported by the Lafayette community. It will be a fun experience for our guys."

The first two rounds will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. on Monday, before the event concludes on Tuesday with the final round scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. fixed start from holes 1 and 10.

Fans have an exciting opportunity to watch the Cats in action as Tuesday's final round of the Louisiana Classics will be televised on ESPN+. Live scoring can be followed throughout the event on Golfstat.com.

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Players Mentioned

Will Hopkins

Luke O'Neill

Laurenz Schiergen

Cooper Schultz

Tim Tillmanns

Kansas State University Athletics