Wildcats Take On Sea Island for SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Kentucky men’s golf team is set for postseason play as it embarks on Sea Island Golf Club at the picturesque Seaside Course for the Southeastern Conference Championships. Teams will play 54 holes over the course of the three-day event. Following the 54-hole tournament, the top two teams will participate in match play on Monday to determine the 2017 Champion, mirroring the NCAA Championships.

 

“The SEC is the best golf conference in the land. It is the best of the best on a terrific golf course in Seaside. We are prepared to play and look forward to the challenge. This year is particularly interesting since it is the first year where match play will determine the team champion. I would love to see this team in match play, but we have to earn the right to get there. We will do our best and relish the challenge.”

 

 

The starting lineup will feature senior Stephen Stallings, juniors Cooper Musselman and Tyler “Chip” McDaniel, and sophomores Fred Allen Meyer and Lukas Euler.

 

McDaniel enters the championship weekend following a strong 7-under-par round on the final day that tied him for ninth place overall at the Gary Koch Invitational at Gaston Country Club. Last season at the SEC Championship, McDaniel was runner-up after he shot 1-under par on the third day. He finished two strokes out of first place.

 

Musselman looks to bounce back from his lowest finish of the season, which was still a spot in the top-30 individuals. The Louisville, Kentucky, native – alongside McDaniel – leads the team with a 71.8 stroke average. The junior also has seven top-25 finishes this season. Musselman finished tied for 25th at last season’s championship. 

 

Euler is coming off his fifth top-25 finish of the season, where he was under par after the first day at the Gary Koch Invitational. He currently holds a 73.1 scoring average, which ranks third on the team. This is Euler’s first conference championship appearance.

 

Stallings, who also played some of his best golf in his last round when he rebounded on the back nine to shoot 1-under par, matched Musselman’s finish on the Seaside course last season. Fred Allen Meyer, who holds four top-20 finishes this season, is also making his first championship appearance.

 

 

As the premier conference in the nation for golf, the SEC features eight teams ranked in the top 25 – three of which are in the top 10: No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 LSU, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 19 Auburn, No. 23, No. 24 Missouri, No. 25 Georgia, No. 28 Arkansas, No. 30 South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi State.

 

Last season, the Wildcats led the field after the second day and ultimately finished in seventh place, their best finish since 2012.

 

 

This marks the 17th year for the SEC Championship to be contested on the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course. The SEC has conducted its annual championship on St. Simons Island since 2001 (Seaside Course 2001-2007, 2010-2015; Frederica Golf Club 2008-2009). Since 1927, the Sea Island Golf Club has enjoyed a legacy as one of America’s premier golf clubs. 

 

Rated No. 1 in the U.S. among the “World’s 50 Best Golf Resorts” by Golf Digest, Sea Island Golf Club offers three exceptional 18-hole championship courses. The Seaside Course, home to the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic, is a links course graced by majestic ocean vistas in the tradition of St. Andrews. Sea Island is also the only resort in the world to receive four Forbes Five-Stars nine years in a row.

 

Originally designed in 1929 by famed architects Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison, the Seaside Course was updated in 1999 by Tom Fazio – earning it a prominent place on Golf Digest’s list of “Top 100 Courses in the United States.” 

 

Players will tee off to begin the 54-hole event on Friday. Following the first day of competition, the teams will be paired based on the results from the prior rounds. Fans can follow along with the action on GolfStat.

 

Cooper Musselman

Chip McDaniel

Lukas Euler

Stephen Stallings

Fred Allen Meyer