Auburn, Alabama tee up for SEC Championship
AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – No. 6 Auburn men’s golf begins play in the SEC Championship at the par 70, 6,898-yard Sea Island Golf Course at St. Simons Island, Ga., Friday through Sunday.
Eight teams are ranked in the top 25, including No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Auburn, No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 14 LSU, No. 17 Alabama, No. 18 Florida and No. 23 Arkansas. Tennessee, Texas A&M, Missouri, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State round out the field.
“The SEC Championship is an event we are looking forward to,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “It’s the best conference in the nation with 11 teams nationally ranked in the top-32 in the nation. The golf course is outstanding and always in excellent shape. It should be a fun next four days.”
Ben Hogan Award semifinalist Michael Johnson will be in the No. 1 spot for the Tigers. The senior from Birmingham, Ala., had a prolific regular season, winning a school record three tournaments and currently holds the lowest stroke average in school history at 69.69.
All-SEC junior Matt Gilchrest will be No. 2. The Southlake, Texas, native had four top-10 finishes in the regular season and is averaging 72.64 strokes. All-America sophomore Ben Schlottman (72.18) is No. 3. The Advance, N.C., product had the best finish by a freshman in school history at the SEC Championship last season as he finished runner-up.
Freshman Jacob Solomon is in the No. 4 spot after finishing in the top-25 in seven of eight events played. The Dublin, Calif., native sports a 71.74 average, second-best on the team and 15th in the SEC. The last spot belongs to senior Jake Mondy (72.00). The product of Blacksburg, Va., has three top-25 finishes on the season, including tying for third at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate.
