ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Spearheaded by a trio of Aggie golfers in the top 10 of the player standings, No. 15 Texas A&M owns the top spot on the leaderboard at the 2017 SEC Men's Golf Championship after 36 holes.
Friday saw the Aggies (273-282=555, -5) take part in the initial two rounds of stroke play at the event on the Seaside Course of Sea Island Golf Club. On Saturday the 14-team field will compete in a final 18 holes of stroke play before the competition is trimmed to eight schools who will face off in match play to determine the 2017 SEC Champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals of match play are slated to take place Sunday before the championship matchup tees off Monday morning.
"We've put ourselves in a great position," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We know it's not over tomorrow, but we want to be the No. 1 seed going into match play. We feel like if you can win the stroke play portion here you can play in any tournament in the country and compete. We also know this is a qualifier and we need to go out and play solid golf tomorrow heading into match play because that's where we'll get to compete for an SEC Championship."
Texas A&M held second place in the team standings after the opening 18 holes, but overtook Florida during the afternoon to move into the pole position. Vanderbilt (-3), Florida (-2), LSU (+2), Alabama (+3) and Missouri (+3) round out the top five spots on the leaderboard which features 12 schools ranked in the GolfStat top 40.
"It was two completely different courses today with the wind," Higgins added. "The morning round was absolutely perfect and there for the taking with soft greens and no wind. You could really attack and be pretty aggressive and the scores showed that. The guys took advantage of it. During the afternoon, the wind picked up, blew out of a different direction and things got really tough out there."
Individually, the Aggies were led by the tandem of junior Cameron Champ (66-71=137, -3) and sophomore Chandler Phillips (67-70=137, -3), who each claim a share of fourth place. Champ got off to a blistering start Friday, firing an opening round of 66 which featured six birdies, before shooting one-over during the afternoon round.
Phillips, meanwhile, carded an eagle on the 565-yard, par-five 15th hole during his opening turn on the golf course to highlight a round of 67 before holding serve with an even-par showing in the afternoon.
"Cameron and Chandler gave us the best 1-2 punch we've had all year," Higgins said of the duo. "They really showed they're two of the best golfers in the entire conference."
Continuing to build upon his breakout spring semester, redshirt freshman Brandon Smith (70-68=138, -2) ended day one in a tie for eighth place.
"Brandon was just a stud this afternoon," Higgins commented. "He shot two-under and birdied three of his last four holes. He did a great job and I was really proud of the way he handled his emotions. He came to play today; knew we're competing for a championship and gave us his best effort."
Rounding out the A&M contingency were junior Andrew Paysse (70-73=143, +3) and freshman Dan Erickson (73-74=147, +7) who ended the day in ties for 26th and 46th, respectively.
The SEC Championship resumes Saturday morning with a final round of stroke play. The Aggies are set to begin teeing off at 9:10 a.m. (CT) and will be paired alongside golfers from Florida and Vanderbilt. Results and live scoring can be found at GolfStat.com.
Friday saw the Aggies (273-282=555, -5) take part in the initial two rounds of stroke play at the event on the Seaside Course of Sea Island Golf Club. On Saturday the 14-team field will compete in a final 18 holes of stroke play before the competition is trimmed to eight schools who will face off in match play to determine the 2017 SEC Champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals of match play are slated to take place Sunday before the championship matchup tees off Monday morning.
"We've put ourselves in a great position," Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We know it's not over tomorrow, but we want to be the No. 1 seed going into match play. We feel like if you can win the stroke play portion here you can play in any tournament in the country and compete. We also know this is a qualifier and we need to go out and play solid golf tomorrow heading into match play because that's where we'll get to compete for an SEC Championship."
Texas A&M held second place in the team standings after the opening 18 holes, but overtook Florida during the afternoon to move into the pole position. Vanderbilt (-3), Florida (-2), LSU (+2), Alabama (+3) and Missouri (+3) round out the top five spots on the leaderboard which features 12 schools ranked in the GolfStat top 40.
"It was two completely different courses today with the wind," Higgins added. "The morning round was absolutely perfect and there for the taking with soft greens and no wind. You could really attack and be pretty aggressive and the scores showed that. The guys took advantage of it. During the afternoon, the wind picked up, blew out of a different direction and things got really tough out there."
Individually, the Aggies were led by the tandem of junior Cameron Champ (66-71=137, -3) and sophomore Chandler Phillips (67-70=137, -3), who each claim a share of fourth place. Champ got off to a blistering start Friday, firing an opening round of 66 which featured six birdies, before shooting one-over during the afternoon round.
Phillips, meanwhile, carded an eagle on the 565-yard, par-five 15th hole during his opening turn on the golf course to highlight a round of 67 before holding serve with an even-par showing in the afternoon.
"Cameron and Chandler gave us the best 1-2 punch we've had all year," Higgins said of the duo. "They really showed they're two of the best golfers in the entire conference."
Continuing to build upon his breakout spring semester, redshirt freshman Brandon Smith (70-68=138, -2) ended day one in a tie for eighth place.
"Brandon was just a stud this afternoon," Higgins commented. "He shot two-under and birdied three of his last four holes. He did a great job and I was really proud of the way he handled his emotions. He came to play today; knew we're competing for a championship and gave us his best effort."
Rounding out the A&M contingency were junior Andrew Paysse (70-73=143, +3) and freshman Dan Erickson (73-74=147, +7) who ended the day in ties for 26th and 46th, respectively.
The SEC Championship resumes Saturday morning with a final round of stroke play. The Aggies are set to begin teeing off at 9:10 a.m. (CT) and will be paired alongside golfers from Florida and Vanderbilt. Results and live scoring can be found at GolfStat.com.