Busy Spring Schedule Continues on to Louisiana Classics Monday and Tuesday

2023 LOUISIANA CLASSICS
Dates	Monday, Mar. 13 - Tuesday, Mar. 14
Format	36 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday
Times	Shotgun start at 8 a.m. CT
Location	Lafayette, La.
Course	Oakbourne Country Club
Teams (16)	Little Rock, Denver, Illinois State, Louisiana (host), Louisiana Tech, LSU, Michigan, New Mexico State, New Orleans, Sam Houston, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas State, UT San Antonio
Scoring	GolfStat.com
Watch	ESPN+ (Round Three)

2022-23 Little Rock Men's Golf Statistics (PDF)

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock continues its busy spring season with its third tournament in two weeks, heading south for the 2023 Louisiana Classics Monday and Tuesday.
 
Tournament Information
The 2023 Louisiana Classics will be a 54-hole tournament hosted Monday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 14 at Oakbourne Country Club, a par-72, 6,898-yard course in Lafayette. The first two rounds will be held Monday, March 13, beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start, followed by the final round Tuesday morning. Live scoring is available at GolfStat.com with the final round of the tournament streamed live on ESPN+ Tuesday.
 
Tournament Field
Little Rock is one of 14 teams competing in the event in south Louisiana and is one of eight teams currently ranked among the GolfStat Top-100. The Trojans are currently ranked 32nd nationally, thanks to a pair of strong showings last week, and they are the number two-ranked team in the field behind number 15 Texas A&M. LSU (No. 47),  SMU (No. 62), New Mexico State (No. 73), Michigan (No. 82), Sam Houston (No. 91) and Illinois State (No. 99) round out the top-100 competitors.
 
Last Time Out
After ending round one tied for eighth among the 16-team field, Little Rock rallied over the final 36 holes to notch a tie for a runner-up finish at the 2023 Desert Mountain Collegiate. The Trojans ended its second tournament of the week with an 11-over 875, tied with host Michigan for a runner-up finish. The Trojan effort was led by a strong performance from Matteo Cristoni, who finished second among the 93-player field with a 5-under 211, finishing par-or-better in all three rounds. Cristoni was joined in the top-20 by Archie Smith, who shot back-to-back 2-under 70s in round two and three to finish tied for 12th with a 3-over 219.
 
Trojans at Louisiana Classic
Little Rock finished ninth at last year's Louisiana Classics, shooting a 9-over 870 against a strong field. Magnus Lomholt and Jansen Smith each tied for 31st individually with a 1-over 217, including a 4-under 68 in round one for Smith.
 
Updated Rankings
After notching a tournament title and a runner-up finish in a pair of events last week, Little Rock enters the week ranked number 32 in the latest GolfStat rankings. The Trojans have posted an overall head-to-head record of 84-10-2 this season (.885 winning percentage), finishing first or second in five of seven tournaments this season. Individually, Matteo Cristoni is the highest-ranked golfer in the OVC at number 69 with a 71.19 scoring average and 13 rounds of par-or-better. Jansen Smith is currently ranked number 157 nationally with a 71.81 scoring average with Archie Smitch checking in at number 235, boasting a 72.28 average.
 
Cristoni Earns Second OVC Weekly Honor
Little Rock sophomore Matteo Cristoni has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Male Golfer of the Week following his impressive performance in Arizona over the weekend. Cristoni notched a runner-up finish at the 2023 Desert Mountain Collegiate in Scottsdale with a 5-under 211 (69-72-70), finishing second among the 93-player field and helping lead Little Rock to a tie for second in the team standings. Cristoni ended the event tied for third in par-four scoring at 1-under and fourth in total birdies (15) and par-five scoring (6-under).
 
Albers Record Watch
Heading into this week's event in Louisiana, senior Anton Albers remains within striking distance of a few career records at Little Rock. He enters this week's event with 116 career rounds played, currently tied for fourth and four round back of all-time leader Logan's Pate 120. Albers is also second all-time in career par-or-better rounds with 52, four back of Daniel Fox's 56 from 1998-01, and he is third all-time in career scoring average at 72.65, sitting behind Fox's 72.32 and Jansen Smith's 72.51 mark.
 
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