BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 7 ranked LSU men’s golf team is set to make their second appearance of the Fall season in Lake Bluff, Ill., at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup.
The event, which is in its fifth year of existence, is set to be played at the par-71, 6,530-yard Shoreacres course. It’s located just off the shore of Lake Michigan in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Golf course architect Seth Raynor’s design utilizes several unique and natural features of the land. These architectural elements include ravines that factor into thirteen of the eighteen holes.
Held annually since 2021, The Jackson T. Stephens Cup pairs the nation’s top collegiate golfers with world class venues. In addition to the twelve NCAA Division I men’s and women’s teams, the Cup will again feature prominent individual players from U.S. Military Service Academies and Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). The event is named in honor of the late Jackson (Jack) T. Stephens, former Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club.
The Tigers enter this week as the second-highest ranked team at the tournament with their No. 7 rank from Golfweek. Texas is ranked as the top competition this weekend with their No. 3 ranking.
LSU is fresh off of a third-place finish at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate a week ago. Noah McWilliams and Árni Sveinsson both finished top 10 at the tournament in Loudon, Tenn., and will return to the Tiger lineup for this week’s competition. The lineup is slightly different from last weekend as the Tigers have inserted Alfons Bondesson for Jay Mendell.
The tournament features 54 holes of stroke play over the first two days, followed by 18 holes of team match play on the final day. Results from stroke play will determine seeding, with the top four men’s and women’s teams advancing to match play. Stroke-play medalists will be honored on September 16 at the conclusion of play.
Golf Channel will host the tournament live for certain time slots all three days. Live coverage of the tournament will be 4-7 p.m. CT on Monday, 3-6 p.m. on Tuesday, and 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday.
THE LSU LINEUP
Árni Sveinsson | Sophomore | Garðabær, Iceland
This season: 69.33 stroke avg. in 3 rounds | Career: 70.18 stroke avg. in 39 rounds
Sveinsson opened the season finishing T10 in the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, going two under in three rounds. He entered this season with a lot of deserved preseason hype. Entering the first tournament he was named a Haskins watch list member and a preseason First Team All-American by two media sites. He is currently ranked the No. 3 European amateur and the No. 14 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: 69.00 stroke avg. in 3 rounds | Career: 73.08 stroke avg. in 39 rounds
McWilliams is fresh off of a top-10 finish at the Visit Knoxville opener where he went three under to finish tied for eighth. 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: 69.67 stroke avg. in 3 rounds | Career: 71.63 stroke avg. in 27 rounds
A T15 finish is how Dodd-Berry opened up the season at the Knoxville Collegiate Classic, posting a one under in three rounds. 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). Had his highest-collegiate finish at this tournament last season, tying for eighth.
Alfons Bondesson | Senior | Vallda, Sweden
This season: 68.33 stroke avg. in 3 rounds | Career: 70.69 stroke avg. in 39 rounds
Bondesson competed individually to open the 2025-26 season at the Argent Financial Classic, posting a 10-under finish at T5. The Swedish golfer posted an average of 70.89 in 36 rounds last season, earning a win and two top-10 finishes in his first season with the Tigers. He punched 12 of his 36 rounds last year in the 60s.
Dan Hayes | Freshman | Manchester, England
This season: 70.33 stroke avg. in 3 rounds | Career: 70.33 stroke avg. in 3 rounds
Hayes finished T22 in his first collegiate competition, going one over at the Knoxville Collegiate Classic. He signed with LSU as the number one junior in Europe. The freshman has an impressive resumé and will look to make an immediate impact in the program. Hayes is currently ranked the No. 3 U21 golfer in Europe with an average of 71.08, and also No. 10 overall in Europe according to European Golf Rankings’ website. Golf Channel tabbed him a preseason All-Freshmen this past week.
TEAMS FEATURED [National ranking]
Ranked: Texas [#3], LSU [#7], SMU [#15], North Carolina [#18], Arizona [#24]
Unranked: Air Force, Army, FAMU, Howard, Livingstone, Navy, Northwestern
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