ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Texas A&M men's golf team starts the Championship portion of its 2020-21 season with the first round of the Southeastern Conference Championship on Wednesday at Sea Island Golf Club. Stroke play of the conference tournament runs Wednesday through Friday and then the team champion is determined via match play on Saturday and Sunday.
The No. 11 Aggies will be paired with No. 10 Georgia and No. 14 Auburn in the first round and begin teeing off from the first hole at 6:30 a.m. CT. Other ranked teams in the rugged field include No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 17 Florida, No. 19 Tennessee, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 23 LSU.
Representing Texas A&M at the SEC Championship are seniors Dan Erickson and Walker Lee, junior Sam Bennett, sophomore William Paysse and freshman Daniel Rodrigues. Senior Brandon Smith was entered as a substitute player. The Aggies have a pair of players ranked in the Golfstat.com top 100 – Bennett at No. 12 and Erickson at No. 67.
For the most up-to-date scoring, tee times and pairings information, go to: Golfstat.com.
Head Coach Brian Kortan says:
"We play a tough schedule and the guys have done a great job of focusing and playing hard throughout the regular season, but the Championship season is the time they play for. Their energy and attention to detail is ramped up. The guys are ready to compete, they like this course and I'm excited to see them get after it. We have an experienced team. Dan and Walker have been here a couple of times and Sammy has been here once so that's a lot of familiarity with the course. They're a prideful bunch. They have been through the battles and they know what it takes to be successful. As a coach, I'm going to give them knowledge of the course and the game plan and then let them get out there and battle. Hopefully we play well enough to be playing on Sunday."
The Aggies' Lineup:
Format:
The championship will consist of 54-holes of stroke play, followed by match play amongst the top eight finishing teams in stroke play.
Day 1 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 2 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 3 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 4 – Quarterfinals (four matches) | Semifinals (two matches)
Day 5 - Championship match
The individual medalist and runner-up will be awarded based on stroke-play competition. The team championship will be awarded to the match-play winner.
Follow the Action:
Fans can follow the action at Golfstat.com, and updates will be available via twitter on @AggieMensGolf.
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About Texas A&M Athletics | Home of the 12th Man:
One of the most successful Athletics Departments in the nation, Texas A&M ranked No. 15 in the most recent Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings and is one of eight Division I institutions nationally to finish in the top 20 of the prestigious ranking of athletics success for at least 13 consecutive years. For more information, go to www.12thMan.com.
About Texas A&M University:
Texas A&M University, the flagship university within the Texas A&M University System, is a tier-one research institution with nearly $1 billion in research grants and more than 69,000 students. The President of Texas A&M University has strategic oversight for campuses in College Station and Galveston, TX and Doha, Qatar. We include The Health Science Center with the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, as well as The Texas A&M School of Law and Mays Business School. For more information, go to www.tamu.edu.
The No. 11 Aggies will be paired with No. 10 Georgia and No. 14 Auburn in the first round and begin teeing off from the first hole at 6:30 a.m. CT. Other ranked teams in the rugged field include No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 17 Florida, No. 19 Tennessee, No. 22 Arkansas and No. 23 LSU.
Representing Texas A&M at the SEC Championship are seniors Dan Erickson and Walker Lee, junior Sam Bennett, sophomore William Paysse and freshman Daniel Rodrigues. Senior Brandon Smith was entered as a substitute player. The Aggies have a pair of players ranked in the Golfstat.com top 100 – Bennett at No. 12 and Erickson at No. 67.
For the most up-to-date scoring, tee times and pairings information, go to: Golfstat.com.
Head Coach Brian Kortan says:
"We play a tough schedule and the guys have done a great job of focusing and playing hard throughout the regular season, but the Championship season is the time they play for. Their energy and attention to detail is ramped up. The guys are ready to compete, they like this course and I'm excited to see them get after it. We have an experienced team. Dan and Walker have been here a couple of times and Sammy has been here once so that's a lot of familiarity with the course. They're a prideful bunch. They have been through the battles and they know what it takes to be successful. As a coach, I'm going to give them knowledge of the course and the game plan and then let them get out there and battle. Hopefully we play well enough to be playing on Sunday."
The Aggies' Lineup:
| #1 Sam BENNETT | Jr. | Madisonville, Texas |
| #2 Dan ERICKSON | Sr. | Whittier, Calif. |
| #3 Walker LEE | Sr. | Houston, Texas |
| #4 Daniel RODRIGUES | Fr. | Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal |
| #5 William PAYSSE | So. | Belton, Texas |
| (Sub.) Brandon SMITH | Sr. | Frisco, Texas |
Format:
The championship will consist of 54-holes of stroke play, followed by match play amongst the top eight finishing teams in stroke play.
Day 1 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 2 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 3 - 18 holes of stroke play
Day 4 – Quarterfinals (four matches) | Semifinals (two matches)
Day 5 - Championship match
The individual medalist and runner-up will be awarded based on stroke-play competition. The team championship will be awarded to the match-play winner.
Follow the Action:
Fans can follow the action at Golfstat.com, and updates will be available via twitter on @AggieMensGolf.
###
About Texas A&M Athletics | Home of the 12th Man:
One of the most successful Athletics Departments in the nation, Texas A&M ranked No. 15 in the most recent Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings and is one of eight Division I institutions nationally to finish in the top 20 of the prestigious ranking of athletics success for at least 13 consecutive years. For more information, go to www.12thMan.com.
About Texas A&M University:
Texas A&M University, the flagship university within the Texas A&M University System, is a tier-one research institution with nearly $1 billion in research grants and more than 69,000 students. The President of Texas A&M University has strategic oversight for campuses in College Station and Galveston, TX and Doha, Qatar. We include The Health Science Center with the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, as well as The Texas A&M School of Law and Mays Business School. For more information, go to www.tamu.edu.