By: Rich Styles

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The SEC golf teams converged to Sea Island Resort for the 18^th consecutive year to play their golf championship.

They played three days of individual and team play, then after elimination of sex teams, the remaining eight teams competed in match play. The results were surprising.

Auburn as a team smoked the other teams and led the team competition to get into the match play as the #1 seed. Auburn won by 16 shots. They shot -24 while the second-place team, Vanderbilt, shot -8.

Then followed in order by Texas A&M, +3, Kentucky +3, Georgia +6, Tennessee +6, Arkansas +15, South Carolina +16, LSU +17, Ole Miss +22, Missouri +35, Florida +35, Mississippi +38 and Alabama +42. The top 8 teams after Friday’s round advance to match play. The other teams went home.

Individual honors went to Auburn’s Jovan Rebula who beat his own mate, Graysen Huff in a playoff. Many of the past individuals who have won are now on either the PGA Tour or Web.com Tour.

Past champions include Michael Thompson (Alabama), Bobby Wyatt (Alabama), Lee McCoy (Georgia), Billy Horschel (Florida), Patton Kizzire (Auburn) and Justin Thomas (Alabama).

Several current PGA Tour players including Keith Mitchell (Georgia) and Thompson walked the par-70 Seaside course to watch their college teams.

On Friday, Seaside showed its teeth with strong winds that resulted in the 14 teams shooting a combined 214 over-par for the day. To play even par with the wind conditions was considered by many as playing under par.

To be able to play even in those conditions was nothing short of patience and determination. Many of these college golfers were being watched by their parents, friends and family and by sports agencies and club manufacturers who would like certain handpicked players to play their brand.

The crowds were about 300-400 people winding their way around the scenic course that hosts the RSM Classic in November.

Over the weekend, the top 8 teams played match play with one team being eliminated each round. That brought #1 seeded Auburn against #7 seed Arkansas on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

The crowds watched some great golf and like many sports, where you finish in the standings sometimes does not matter. Arkansas, which was 39 strokes apart from Auburn as a team, beat them 3.5-1.5. Quite an accomplishment for a team that was not picked to win this tournament.

Yet, as a team, they won. Julian Perico, the only Razorback to win all three of his match play contests, was tied with Grayson Huff through 17 holes.

Perico struck his tee shot like it was out of a cannon, while his playing partner had to play out of the fairway bunker. Bottom line, Perico won with a par and Arkansas was on their way to the SEC Golf Championship.

The SEC is known for football but now must be known for golf.  All 14 schools received NCAA bids in 2018. Probably most will for 2019. Since 2013, the SEC has been represented in the NCAA championship match play every year.

The SEC Men’s Golf has won 3 National Championships in the last 6 years; 7 SEC teams ranked in the top 25, 8 Arnold Palmer Cup team members in 2018, most by any conference; 9 PGA Tour winners in the 2017-2018 season and 5 Major PGA Tour wins since 2000 including 2 Masters…Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed. Watson went to UGA and so did Reed however, Reed left UGA.

Great golf under some difficult conditions and greater golf over the match play earns the SEC Golf Championship to Arkansas.