Razorbacks Post Best SEC Finish In Eight Years

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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The No. 23 Arkansas men’s golf team continued its climb up the leaderboard during the final round of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championship Sunday afternoon and finished tied for third with rounds of 288-283-290 – 861 (+21) at Sea Island Golf Club.

The Razorbacks started the final round in fourth place and finished 10-over for the day and 21-over for the championship to move up for the second straight round and tie No. 18 Florida for third overall. No. 4 Georgia captured the title at 13-over, while No. 27 Texas A&M posted a runner-up finish at 16-over.

The Razorbacks posted their highest finish at the SEC Championship since a runner-up finish in 2009, while Taylor Moore and Charles Kim is the first duo to finish inside the top 10 since David Lingmerth and Andrew Landry eight years ago.

Arkansas has finished in the top six at the SEC Championship eight straight years under head coach Brad McMakin, making it the only SEC program to accomplish the feat. Along with the third place finish, the Razorbacks defeated two top 10 teams and five top 20 squads to run their spring head-to-head record to 71-23-3.

Moore recorded a 2-over 72 in the final round to finish T-5th overall at 72-68-72 – 212 (+2) and post his second straight top 10 finish at the SEC Championship. He joins Lingmerth and Anthony Dahl as the only Razorbacks in the last 20 years to do so. The Edmond, Oklahoma, native recorded 14 pars in the final round and led the field with 40 pars in the championship.

Kim played well beyond his years in his first conference championship appearance, firing an even par 70 in the final round to finish alone in ninth place at 71-73-70 – 214 (+4) and post the first top 10 finish of his collegiate career.

Nicolas Echavarria followed in T-25th place at 72-74-73 – 219 (+9), Alvaro Ortiz finished in T-32nd at 73-73-75 – 221 (+11) and Kolton Crawford rounded out the team in T-38th at 78-69-76 – 223 (+13).

The Razorbacks will learn their NCAA Regional destination Thursday, May 5 when the field is announced at 9:30 a.m. CDT on the Golf Channel.

McMakin’s Post Round Thoughts
“I’m extremely proud of our team. We played great all three days in some very tough conditions. We did a lot of good things this week and have nothing but positives to take away. It was great to have a chance to win, but I am very pleased with a third place finish.”

Quick Hits
• The Razorbacks recorded their highest finish since a runner-up finish in 2009.
• Arkansas is the only team in the league to finish in the top six of the SEC Championship each of the last eight years.
• The Razorbacks finished in the top five for the seventh time in the last nine tournaments.
• Arkansas improves its spring head-to-head record to 71-23-3.
• Taylor Moore became the third Razorback in the last 20 years with consecutive top 10 finishes at the SEC Championship.
• Charles Kim recorded the first top 10 finish of his collegiate career and finished fourth in the field among freshmen.
• Arkansas led the field in par four scoring at 25-over and total pars with 180.

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SEC Championship Results (Final Round)

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