Mississippi State
SEC Championship
MState Has Best SEC Finish Since 2000
April 20, 2008 | Men's Golf
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. ? The Mississippi State men's golf team accomplished their best finish in the SEC Championship since 2000, by finishing fifth. The Bulldogs notched rounds of 293-292-293 for a team score of 878 and 14-over-par at the par 72 Fredrica Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. The 878 posted by the Maroon and White is the fourth lowest all-time by an MSU team at the SEC Championship.
“I was very happy with our play this week,” said Coach Clay Homan. “We finished well on the back nine every day and that was a huge plus for us.”
Senior Josh Oller finished in the top 10 with consistent rounds of 73-71-72 for even-par and a tie for seventh. Oller also led the Bulldogs on the final day with five birdies, four of which came from his final six holes. Junior Carlos Sainz, Jr. who was MSU's leader last year at the SEC Championship, finished tied for 15th, and tallied a 218 through three rounds, with his only under-par round coming on the final day with a 71, which included all four of his birdies coming from the back nine. Junior Matt Fast finished in a tie for 25th after his 5-over-par showing, but posted a team-high 12 birdies through the three-day event. Junior Noah Goldman was 1-under-par after day one, but followed it up with rounds of 75 and 77 to finish at 7-over-par and a tie for 34th. Junior Josh Bevell shot increasing rounds of 74-76-77 and tied for 56th.
“The guys showed a lot of heart and got the job done this weekend,” said Homan. “We finished behind some quality competition and there is no shame there.”
The Bulldogs were in a tie for fifth place after day one, dropped into sixth place on day two and worked their way back up to a fifth place finish. MSU finished 25 strokes behind the SEC Champions, Alabama, who notched 11-under-par through three days. The Gamecocks of South Carolina finished second with a 3-under-par showing, followed by the Georgia Bulldogs 2-under-par score. MState trailed the fourth place Florida Gators by 6 strokes at the end of the tournament, and outplayed last years' champions, the Volunteers of Tennessee by three strokes as they finished sixth. Mississippi finished seventh, while LSU and Auburn tied for eighth, followed by Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas.
MSU will await to hear what region they will compete in postseason competition, with the announcement to be made by the NCAA on May 5th.
“I believe we have done all the right things to make a regional, there is no mystery there,” said Homan. “Our goal is to be one of the final 30 teams competing at the NCAA Championship, so that is what we will be preparing for.”
SEC Championship:
1.Alabama, U. of 285-293-275=853,-11 2. South Carolina, U. of 294-289-278=861,-3 3. Georgia, U. of 290-291-281=862,-2 4. Florida, U. of 290-292-290=872,+8 5. Mississippi State U. 293-292-293=878,+14 6. Tennessee, U. of 296-287-298=881,+17 7. Mississippi, U. of 298-290-296=884,+20 T8. Auburn U. 301-301-286=888,+24 T8. Louisiana State U. 292-297-299=888,+24 10. Vanderbilt U. 300-292-298=890,+26 11. Kentucky, U. of 298-300-295=893,+29 12. Arkansas, U. of 308-292-297=897,+33
T7 Josh Oller 73-71-72=216,E
T15 Carlos Sainz, Jr. 75-72-71=218,+2
T25 Matt Fast 74-74-73-221,+5
T34 Noah Goldman 71-75-77=222,+7
T56 Josh Bevell 76-77-79=232,+16
