It’s been more than a week since the Southeastern Conference Championship wrapped up with Vanderbilt’s 3-2 victory over Arkansas in the championship match April 25 at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course on St. Simons Island, Ga.
But digging into a long weekend of SEC golf is always worth the wait, especially a championship that was two years in the making with the coronavirus pandemic denying college golf fans the drama and the rivalries of America’s best sports conference going at it on the golf course.
Let’s face it, there are SEC players all over the place on the PGA Tour every year, the victory by former LSU star Sam Burns in this past weekend’s Valspar Championship at the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor Fla. just the latest example of the caliber of player the conference regularly sends to the pro ranks.
When the NCAA regional bids are released Wednesday night, many of the SEC teams will continue their seasons, with their sights firmly set on a trip to Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. later this month for the NCAA Championship.
Pretty sure the SEC Championship was pushed up a little in deference to this weekend’s Walker Cup Match, which will pit the United States against Great Britain & Ireland at the iconic Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. It’s not the usual timing for the Walker Cup, in the midst of the college golf postseason, but nobody’s complaining.
Is it too much golf? Are you kidding me? After the spring of 2020 when there was no golf? Give me too much golf every time.
And yes, the SEC will be represented by Georgia’s Davis Thompson, a senior from Auburn, Ala. and No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Florida’s Ricky Castillo, a sophomore from Yorba Linda, Calif. and No. 10 in the WAGR. They were two of the three automatic selections to the U.S. roster that went to the top three Americans in the WAGR as of Feb. 10.
The last time this group convened for an SEC Championship two springs ago, also at Sea Island, Vanderbilt fell to eventual winner Arkansas in the quarterfinals and Texas A&M lost to the Razorbacks in the semifinals. A couple of weeks later when there were only eight teams still standing for match play in the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club, Arkansas’ home course in Fayetteville, Ark., Vanderbilt and Texas A&M were two of them.
The Commodores defeated the Aggies in the quarterfinals before falling in a tight, 3-2, decision to eventual national champion Stanford in the semifinals.
Does that render the SEC Championship somewhat meaningless? Hardly. Winning an SEC title in any sport is always important. And since the SEC added an NCAA Championship-like layer of match play to its championship in 2017, the last time Vanderbilt won the title, the teams have come to appreciate the value of playing in tough match-play situations. The ultimate goal is to win a national championship and playing matches against conference rivals on a quality golf course gives you a better chance of achieving that goal.
Vanderbilt, which arrived at Sea Island at No. 15 in the Golfstat rankings and rose to No. 13 on the strength of its run to the title, captured this year’s SEC crown on the basis of two hard-fought wins in matches that went to the 18th hole against Arkansas, which dropped from No. 22 to No. 24 in the Golfstat rankings after its loss.
Reid Davenport, a junior from Austin, Texas, edged the Razorbacks’ Tyson Reeder, a graduate student from Edmond, Okla., 1-up. William Moll, a sophomore from Houston, pulled out a 1-up decision over Manuel Lozada, a freshman from Argentina, Moll’s par putt on the 18th green clinching the title for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt’s other full point came from Cole Sherwood, a freshman from Austin, Texas who claimed a 4 and 2 victory over William Buhl, a graduate student from Fairhope, Ala. College golf is filled this spring with guys like Buhl and Reeder, both of whom took up the NCAA on its offer of a fifth year of eligibility to make up for the spring of their senior season stolen by the pandemic. Which means there are a ton of grizzled veterans out there.
Arkansas got a point from Segundo Oliva Pinto, a junior from Peru who, two days earlier, claimed the SEC’s individual crown with a 6-under 204 total over the 7,005-yard, par-70 Seaside Course layout. Oliva Pinto took down one of Vanderbilt’s veterans, Harrison Ott, a senior from Brookfield, Wis., with a 4 and 3 verdict.
Arkansas’ other point came from Julian Perico, a junior from Peru and the hero of the Razorbacks’ unlikely run to the SEC crown as a freshman in 2019. Perico, No. 91 in the WAGR, rolled to a 6 and 5 victory over Vanderbilt sophomore Matthew Riedel, another Houstonian.
In the April 24 semifinals, Vanderbilt rolled into the title match with a 4-1 win over Alabama, which somehow came into the SEC Championship ranked 37th and moved up to No. 34 in the SEC Championship’s aftermath.
Sherwood captured a 5 and 4 decision over Alabama’s talented Canon Claycomb, a sophomore from Bowling Green, Ky., Davenport downed J.P. Cave, a freshman from Mobile, Ala., 4 and 2, Ott topped Crimson Tide veteran William Furr, a senior from Jackson, Miss. and No. 77 in the WAGR, 2 and 1, and Riedel outlasted another Alabama veteran, Davis Shore, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn., 3 and 1.
Alabama’s lone point was registered by Thomas Ponder, a sophomore from Dothan, Ala. who earned a 3 and 1 victory over Moll.
Arkansas punched its ticket into the final with a 3.5-1.5 victory over Texas A&M, which entered the championship ranked 11th and fell back to No. 14 afterwards.
Oliva Pinto claimed a 4 and 2 victory over Texas A&M veteran Walker Lee, a senior from Houston, Buhl knocked off Willan Paysse, a redshirt sophomore from Belton, Texas, 3 and 2, Lozada earned a 4 and 3 win over Dan Erickson, a senior from Whittier, Calif. and Reeder battled Daniel Rodrigues, a freshman from Portugal, to a draw.
The Aggies’ lone point came from Sam Bennett, a junior from Madisonville, Texas who captured a 4 and 3 decision over Perico.
The Aggies made the most noise in the quarterfinals in the morning of April 24 when they knocked off Georgia, which had earned the No. 1 seed in match play with an eight-shot victory over Alabama, Tennessee and LSU in the stroke-play qualifying, with a 3-2 victory.
Georgia had entered the SEC Championship as the conference’s top-ranked team at No. 10 and dropped only one spot to No. 11 with its upset loss in the quarterfinals.
Texas A&M’s Rodrigues was apparently unfazed by Thompson’s lofty status in the WAGR and proceeded to knock him off with a 1-up decision. Erickson gutted out a victory over Eli Scott, a junior from Hartwell, Ga., in 22 holes and Texas A&M’s final point came from Bennett, who claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Spencer Ralston, a fifth-year player from Gainesville, Ga. and No. 87 in the WAGR.
Georgia’s Trent Phillips, a junior from Inman, Ga. and No. 61 in the WAGR, pulled out a victory over the Aggies’ Lee on the 19th hole and the Bulldogs’ other point came from Connor Creasy, a sophomore from Abingdon, Va. who handed Paysse a 3 and 2 setback.
Arkansas reached the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over LSU, which maintained its No. 23 ranking following the SEC Championship.
Buhl got by the Bayou Tigers’ Michael Sanders, a junior from Davidson, N.C., 2 and 1, Oliva Pinto claimed a 4 and 2 win over Nicholas Arcemont, a freshman from Thibodaux, La., and Lozada topped Drew Doyle, a junior from Louisville Ky., 3 and 1.
LSU’s points came from Connor Gaunt, a sophomore from Cabot, Ark. who earned a 2 and 1 verdict over Perico, and Garrett Barber, a junior from Stuart, Fla. who claimed a 2 and 1 victory over Reeder.
Vanderbilt started its road to the title with a 4-1 victory over cross-state rival Tennessee, which moved up a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 19 to No. 18 in the aftermath of the SEC Championship, in the quarterfinals.
Ott claimed a 3 and 2 decision over Rhys Nevin, a senior from England, Davenport topped Brayden Garrison, a senior from Nolensville, Tenn., 2 and 1, and Riedel and Moll each pulled out a couple of tough 1-up victories, Riedel edging Spencer Cross, a junior from Sevierville, Tenn., and Moll getting by Hunter Wolcott, a redshirt junior from Burns, Tenn.
Bryce Lewis, a redshirt freshman from Hendersonville, Tenn., picked up the lone point for the Volunteers with a 1-up decision over Sherwood.
Alabama advanced to the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over South Carolina, which fell from No. 48 to No. 51 after its showing in the SEC Championship.
Furr earned a 2 and 1 decision over Jack Parrott, a senior from Columbia, S.C., Claycomb claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Ryan Hall, a junior from Knoxville, Tenn. and No. 50 in the WAGR, and Shore pulled out a 3-2 victory over sophomore Jack Wall, who reached the quarterfinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur in 2019 at Stonewall while playing out of Manasquan River Golf Club in South Jersey.
The Gamecocks picked up a point from Caleb Proveaux, a graduate student from Lexington, S.C. who knocked off Ponder, 2 and 1, and another from Jamie Wilson, a graduate student from Mt. Pleasant, S.C. who rolled to a 5 and 4 victory over Cave.
Georgia had pulled away from a tightly bunched pack with its final round of 3-under 277 April 23 that earned the Bulldogs the top seed in the match-play bracket.
Georgia had opened stroke play with a solid 5-under 275 April 21, but struggled to a 10-over 290 April 22, the scores generally higher on Day 2 for much of the field. Georgia and LSU, which had opened with a 1-over 281 and added a 4-over 284, were tied for third place at 565, four shots behind Alabama. The Crimson Tide, which had opened with a 4-over 284, had carded the best round of Day 2, a 3-under 277, to take the lead going into the final round with a 1-over 561 total.
Arkansas added a 286 to its opening round of 2-under 278 and was alone in second place, three shots behind the Crimson Tide and one ahead of Georgia and LSU.
Georgia’s solid final round gave it a 2-over 842 total that left the Bulldogs atop team leaderboard at 2-over 842. After that, the scramble was on to make sure teams got a spot among the top eight for match play.
Alabama finished up with a 9-over 289 to fall back into a three-way tie for second place with LSU and Tennessee at 10-over 850, eight shots behind Georgia. The Bayou Tigers closed with a 5-over 285 to get its share of second place. Tennessee moved up the leaderboard with a solid 1-over 281 in the final round. When the tiebreakers were sorted out, Alabama, Tennessee and LSU were seeded second, third and fourth, respectively, in the match-play bracket.
Arkansas finished up with an 8-over 288 to end up two shots behind the trio tied for second place in fifth at 12-over 852.
Vanderbilt, the ultimate champion, was solid throughout, adding an 8-over 288 to its opening-round 281 before finishing up with a 4-over 284 to end up a shot behind Arkansas in sixth place at 13-over 853.
South Carolina, too, was steady, the Gamecocks adding a 286 to their opening-round 285 before closing with a 4-over 284 to land the seventh seed at 15-over 855, two shots behind Vanderbilt.
Texas A&M was on the outside looking in after opening with a 286 and struggling to a 293 in the second round. But the Aggies, showing a ton of grit, matched Georgia for the low round of the final day of stroke play, a 3-under 277, to surge past Auburn and Florida and grab the final spot in match play with a 16-over 856 total.
Auburn, which entered the SEC Championship ranked 14th by Golfstat and finished the week at No. 15, looked like it was in after adding a 285 to its opening round of 2-over 282. But Auburn struggled to a final round of 293 to finish in a tie for ninth place with Florida at 20-over 860, four shots behind Texas A&M.
The Gators, who maintained their ranking at No. 17, were always in with a chance, but couldn’t quite crack the top eight. They added a 289 to their opening-round 286 before closing with a 285. Only 10 shots separated the trio tied for second place at 10-over 850 and Auburn and Florida in the tie for ninth place at 20-over 860.
In grabbing team medalist honors in stroke play, Georgia was led by Ralston and Thompson, who finished 2-3, respectively, on the individual leaderboard.
Ralston led the field after adding a 3-under 67 in blustery conditions on Day 2 to his opening-round 68. He closed with a 1-over 71 to end up two shots behind Arkansas’ Oliva Pinto at 4-under 206. Thompson was another two shots behind his teammate in third place at 2-under 208 as he added a 71 to his opening round of 2-under 68 before finishing up with a 69.
Creasy, the youngster in the lineup, backed up the top two for Georgia as he sandwiched a 75 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 69s to land among the group tied for 12th place at 3-over 213.
After opening with a 71, Scott struggled to a 77 in the second round before contributing a crucial 1-under 69 in the final round that left him in the group tied for 33rd place at 7-over 217. Rounding out the Georgia lineup was Phillips, who sandwiched a 78 in the second round with a pair of even-par 70s to finish in the group tied for 39th place at 8-over 218
It was quite a week for Arkansas’ Oliva Pinto and it all began with a scintillating 6-under 64 in the opening round of stroke play April 21. He cooled off with a 2-over 72 that left him a shot behind Ralston going into the final round. But he grinded out a 2-under 68 in the final round of stroke play for a 6-under 204 total that gave him a two-shot edge over Ralston and the SEC individual crown.
Maybe even more impressive was that he backed that up by going 3-0 in match play in helping the Razorbacks make a run to the championship match.
Tennessee’s Cross was right behind Oliva Pinto with his opening-round 65. He backed off in Day 2’s difficult conditions with a 73 before closing with a 71 that left him alone in fourth place at 1-under 209, a shot behind Georgia’s Thompson.
Vanderbilt’s Sherwood and South Carolina’s Wilson landed in a tie for fifth place, each ending up at even-par 210. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Sherwood carded a solid 2-under 68 in the second round when the blustery conditions had many players going backward before finishing up with a 72. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Wilson registered a 72 before closing with a solid 2-under 68 to get it back to even-par.
Texas A&M’s Erickson, LSU’s Gaunt and Florida’s Joe Pagdin, a freshman from England, finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up at 1-over 211.
Erickson opened with a 2-under 68 and cooled off with a 74 in the second round before finishing up with a 69. Gaunt opened strong, matching Cross’ sparkling 5-under 65 in the first round, before adding respective rounds of 72 and 74 in the last two rounds. Pagdin got off to a strong start with a 2-under 68 before adding a 72 in the second round and finishing up with a 71.
Rounding out the top 10 were Mississippi State’s Hunter Logan, a sophomore from Steens, Miss., and Auburn’s Andrew Kozan, a senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., both of whom finished in a tie for 10th place, each landing on 2-over 212. After opening with a 72, Logan added a 73 before closing with one of the best rounds of the day in the final round, a 3-under 67. After opening with a solid 1-under 69, Kozan registered a 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 72.
I’m sure Florida’s Castillo would have appreciated a match or three as he prepared for the cauldron of the Walker Cup, but he was typically solid at Sea Island, matching par with a 70 in the second round after opening with a 72 and closing with a 71 to finish among the group tied for 12th place at 3-over 213.
South Carolina’s Wall – older brother Jeremy was the winner of the 2019 Philly Am at Stonewall, the second straight year he had his name etched on the J. Wood Platt Trophy – was solid in stroke play as he opened with a 1-over 71 and added a 72 before closing with a 73 that left him in the group tied for 28th place at 6-over 216.
No comments:
Post a Comment