#5 Razorbacks Tied for 8th But Fall in Stroke Play Playoff at SEC Championship
ST SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The #5 Arkansas men’s golf team fired a final-round 277 (-3) and moved up two spots into a three-way tie for eighth with a 54-hole, 12-under-par 828 at the 2026 SEC Championships, held at the par-70 Sea Island Gold Club – Seaside Course. However, South Carolina advanced to the weekend match play by defeating the Razorbacks and Georgia Bulldogs in a playoff.
Arkansas was put into position to advance thanks to a 67 by John Daly II, a 68 by Gerardo Gomez and a 69 by Niilo Maki-Petaja in the final round. Daly’s 67 was his best career round at the SECs. Gomez made Razorback history with his 69, becoming the first Hog to shoot five career rounds in the 60s at the SECs. After a 74 in his first round as a freshman at the SECs last season, Gomez has turned in rounds of 69-68-69-69-68. Maki-Petaja turned in a 69 for the second-straight round.
In the playoff, South Carolina had a cumulative score of -1 thanks to birdies by Brock Blais on 14 and Talan Harrison on 16, while Arkansas and Georgia had a cumulative score of +1.
During the final round Friday, Arkansas and South Carolina kept trading places for the eighth and final spot throughout the final round. USC’s Harrison had an eagle on 15 and a birdie on 17 to put the Gamecocks in control with a hole to play. However, South Carolina played its final hole – the par-4, 18th – at 4-over with two bogeys and a double bogey.
Arkansas, on the other hand, was finishing on the front nine. Gomez led the way by going bogey-free on his final nine holes with birdies on holes 1, 3 and 8. Maki-Petaja was also bogey-free over his final nine holes with a birdie on 5. Thomas Curry helped Arkansas get into the playoff with a birdie on the par-4, 8th to get the Hogs to 12-under. Daly, Gomez, Maki-Petaja, and Curry each had a par on the final hole – the par-4, 9th – to tie South Carolina at the time.
With Arkansas and South Carolina in the clubhouse at -12, Georgia charged from 13th to start the day into eighth and join the playoff. The Bulldogs, like Arkansas, finished on the front nine and were two shots from eighth after a double bogey on hole 6. However, UGA got a pair of birdies on hole 7 to get to 12-under for the Championships.
Top-ranked Auburn was 12-under in the final round and cruised to the stroke play win at -39, followed by #4 Florida at -33 and #3 Texas at -30. The other teams advancing to match play were #8 Ole Miss (-20), #30 Texas A&M (-16), #41 Mississippi State (-14) and #16 Oklahoma (-13).
Arkansas will find out its NCAA postseason fate when the regional fields are announced on May 6 at 1 pm (CT) on GOLF Channel. Arkansas is a projected 1 or 2 seed.
2026 SEC Championships
STROKE: April 22-24
St. Simons Island, Ga.
Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course (70)
Format: 5 count 4
Final Results:
1 #1 Auburn 269-264-268=801 / -39
2 #4 Florida 269-271-267=807 / -33
3 #3 Texas 269-269-272=810 / -30
4 #12 Ole Miss 265-274-281=820 / -20
5 #30 Texas A&M 274-270-280=824 / -16
6 #41 Mississippi State 271-273-282=826 / -14
7 #16 Oklahoma 266-277-284=827 / -13
*T8 #39 South Carolina 272-276-280=828 / -12
T8 #5 Arkansas 277-274-277=828 / -12
T8 #25 Georgia 280-273-275=828 / -12
11 #17 Alabama 272-279-283=834 / -6
12 #8 LSU 275-285-275=835 / -5
13 #14 Tennessee 278-273-285=836 / -4
14 #11 Vanderbilt 278-271-294=843 / +3
15 #89 Missouri 275-290-284=849 / +9
16 #54 Kentucky 285-290-293=868 / +28
* South Carolina won a 3-way playoff to advance to match play
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