University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Monday, March 9
Lafayette, La.
8 a.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
41st Louisiana Classics
Ragin' Cajuns Set To Host 41st Annual Louisiana Classics
3/8/2026 11:53:00 AM | Golf
10th-oldest collegiate tournament opens Monday with 8 a.m. shotgun start
LAFAYETTE - A rare defending champion and a squad that has won three of the last four team championships will be in the field beginning Monday when UL hosts its 41st annual Louisiana Classics Golf Tournament at Oakbourne Country Club.
A 16-team field, matching the largest in tournament history, will begin play at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start over the 6,898-yard, par-72 Oakbourne layout. Teams will play two 18-hole rounds Monday and a final 18 holes Tuesday with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. and that final round airing on ESPN+.
There is no admission charge and live scoring is available at Scoreboard.clippd.com.
The Louisiana Classics – the 10th-oldest collegiate golf event in the country dating back to 1986 – has never had a two-time winner, but UL senior Malan Potgieter has the chance to accomplish that feat. The Kirkwood, South Africa, product became the Ragin' Cajuns' first-ever individual winner at last year's Classics, winning a three-hole sudden-death playoff with LSU's Alfons Bondesson for medalist honors with a nine-under 207 score.
"That's really difficult to do, win back-to-back," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, "but Malan's been playing really well and I know he's been aiming at this one for his last home tournament. He's very capable of being right in the hunt on Tuesday."
Texas A&M is the team favorite, and the Aggies have won three of the last four Classics titles. LSU edged A&M by two strokes in a back-and-forth final-round battle last year, but the Tigers are not in the field for this year's Classics. The Aggies won in 2022 by 12 strokes, in 2023 by 11 shots and in 2024 by a 17-stroke margin, and have won four Classics titles with six runners-up finishes.
Half of the field ranks in the top 100 in the current collegiate golf rankings with A&M the top-ranked team in the field at No. 29. The others in the top 100 are Little Rock (#48), South Alabama (#65), Michigan (#79), Oral Roberts (#82), East Tennessee State (#88), Southern Illinois (#92) and North Texas (#100). Along with South Alabama, Sun Belt Conference members Texas State (#112) and UL (#120) are in the field along with Illinois State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and Lamar.
Texas A&M's Aaron Pounds is the top-ranked individual in the field at No. 25 along with teammate Wheaton Ennis at No. 72 and Potgieter – who has six top-four individual finishes in seven tournaments this season – at No. 78. Aggie players have won six individual titles in the tournament's 40-year history.
Potgieter, Ennis, two-time Sun Belt champion Hugo Thyr (#178) and Viggo Talasmaki of Little Rock will go off Oakbourne's No. 1 tee as the lead group in Monday's 8 a.m. shotgun start.
Potgieter, who finished sixth in the Africa Amateur Championships in February prior to the start of the spring season, holds a 68.95 stroke average and is shooting for both UL's single-season and career scoring average records. He will be joined in the lineup by senior Jean Louis du Plessis, junior Carter Schmitt and freshmen Drew Sliman and James Holtsclaw. Sophomore Jay Brooks and freshman Nathan Schuldt will represent the Cajuns as individual entries.
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A 16-team field, matching the largest in tournament history, will begin play at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start over the 6,898-yard, par-72 Oakbourne layout. Teams will play two 18-hole rounds Monday and a final 18 holes Tuesday with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. and that final round airing on ESPN+.
There is no admission charge and live scoring is available at Scoreboard.clippd.com.
The Louisiana Classics – the 10th-oldest collegiate golf event in the country dating back to 1986 – has never had a two-time winner, but UL senior Malan Potgieter has the chance to accomplish that feat. The Kirkwood, South Africa, product became the Ragin' Cajuns' first-ever individual winner at last year's Classics, winning a three-hole sudden-death playoff with LSU's Alfons Bondesson for medalist honors with a nine-under 207 score.
"That's really difficult to do, win back-to-back," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman, "but Malan's been playing really well and I know he's been aiming at this one for his last home tournament. He's very capable of being right in the hunt on Tuesday."
Texas A&M is the team favorite, and the Aggies have won three of the last four Classics titles. LSU edged A&M by two strokes in a back-and-forth final-round battle last year, but the Tigers are not in the field for this year's Classics. The Aggies won in 2022 by 12 strokes, in 2023 by 11 shots and in 2024 by a 17-stroke margin, and have won four Classics titles with six runners-up finishes.
Half of the field ranks in the top 100 in the current collegiate golf rankings with A&M the top-ranked team in the field at No. 29. The others in the top 100 are Little Rock (#48), South Alabama (#65), Michigan (#79), Oral Roberts (#82), East Tennessee State (#88), Southern Illinois (#92) and North Texas (#100). Along with South Alabama, Sun Belt Conference members Texas State (#112) and UL (#120) are in the field along with Illinois State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and Lamar.
Texas A&M's Aaron Pounds is the top-ranked individual in the field at No. 25 along with teammate Wheaton Ennis at No. 72 and Potgieter – who has six top-four individual finishes in seven tournaments this season – at No. 78. Aggie players have won six individual titles in the tournament's 40-year history.
Potgieter, Ennis, two-time Sun Belt champion Hugo Thyr (#178) and Viggo Talasmaki of Little Rock will go off Oakbourne's No. 1 tee as the lead group in Monday's 8 a.m. shotgun start.
Potgieter, who finished sixth in the Africa Amateur Championships in February prior to the start of the spring season, holds a 68.95 stroke average and is shooting for both UL's single-season and career scoring average records. He will be joined in the lineup by senior Jean Louis du Plessis, junior Carter Schmitt and freshmen Drew Sliman and James Holtsclaw. Sophomore Jay Brooks and freshman Nathan Schuldt will represent the Cajuns as individual entries.
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