Razorbacks, Oliva Pinto 2nd at SEC

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Strong winds led to tough scoring conditions, but #22 Arkansas shot one of the better rounds of the day to move up one spot into second (564) after 36 holes at the 2021 SEC Championships, played at Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course (par 70, 7.005 yards). Round one leader and Razorback junior Segundo Oliva Pinto shot a second-round 72 and is in second on the individual leaderboard at -4 (64-72=136), one stroke off the top spot.

Alabama was the only team under par on Thursday at -3 and the 37th-ranked Crimson Tide climbed six places to assume to lead after 36 holes (561/+1). The Razorbacks posted a round-two score of 286 (+6) to move past Georgia and Tennessee for second place. The 10th-ranked Bulldogs posted a 10-over score of 290 in round two and are tied for third with #23 LSU, both one stroke behind Arkansas at 565. Rounding out the top eight are #14 Auburn (567), #19 Tennessee (569), #15 Vanderbilt (569) and #48 South Carolina (571). The Gamecocks hold a four-shot lead over ninth-place and 17th-ranked Florida. The top eight after Friday’s round will advance to match play.

Oliva Pinto kept his bogey-free championship going through eight holes, including a birdie on the par 3 6th hole, before suffering a bogey on the ninth to make the turn at even. He dropped shots on the 10th and 12th holes but bounced back to birdie holes 13 and 15th to maintain the lead. However, Oliva Pinto had a double bogey on the 18th hole while Georgia’s Spencer Ralston had a par to see the two flip on the leaderboard.

As mentioned, scoring conditions were not ideal so William Buhl and Manuel Lozada each improved their round-one position after carding a 1-over-par 71 Thursday. The duo each posted 16 pars, two bogeys and a birdie. Buhl jumped one spot into a tie for ninth (69-71=140/Even) and Lozada jumped 14 spots into a tie for 27th (73-71=144/+4).

Tyson Reeder, who had 16 pars in round two, shot a 3-over 73 and is tied for 35th with a 5-over total of 145. Julian Perico vaulted 10 spots into a tie for 38th after his 72 in round two and a 36-hole total of 146 (+6).

The third and final round of stroke play, which will determine the 2021 SEC individual champion, is set for Friday. The top eight teams will play in the SEC match play quarterfinals Saturday morning with the semifinals set for Saturday afternoon.

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