Razorbacks Remain in 8th at SEC Championship
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Arkansas is even par (560) after two rounds and sits in eighth place after 36 holes at the 2023 SEC Championships, played at the par-70 Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course.
Wil Gibson and Segundo Oliva Pinto each posted rounds of 69 to help the Razorbacks’ cause. Gibson is tied for seventh at 3-under-par (68-69=137). Oliva Pinto climbed 13 spots into a tie for 22nd and is 1-under through two rounds (70-69).
Arkansas, which is tied with Ole Miss with a tournament-best 131 pars through two days, will look to finish eighth or better after tomorrow’s final round of stroke play in order to advance to the weekend’s match play.
Round one leader #15 Texas A&M shot a 279 in round two and is tied for the lead with #17 Alabama, which shot 278 on Thursday. The schools had a score of 548 (-12). Florida, ranked 9th, moved from seventh to third after carding the low round of 273 and are two strokes back at 550 (-10). Top-ranked Vanderbilt moved up two spots and #13 Tennessee improved by four spots as the two teams are tied for fourth at 554 (-6). Rounding out the top eight are #18 Mississippi State (555 (-5), #43 Missouri (558 (-2) and Arkansas at 560 (E). Nipping at the heels of the Razorbacks for the coveted eighth spot are #21 Ole Miss (+1) with #8 Auburn and #31 Georgia at +2.
Gibson started his round with a bogey then ran off eight pars to make the tun at 1-over. He went birdie-bogey-birdie to open in inwards nine to stand at even par through 12 holes. Gibson then birdied the par-5, 15th hole and finished with three pars for his second round in the 60’s at the Championship.
Oliva Pinto, who is tied for the field lead with 29 pars, opened his front nine with a birdie and closed his front nine with a birdie, posting seven pars in between. He dropped a shot on the pr-4, 10th hole before closing his round with eight pars for his 69. The 2021 SEC Champion was 1-under for the day and 1-under for the tournament.
Julian Perico is tied for 27th at even par for 36 holes (68-72=140). Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, who has the second-best total of pars with 28, is tied for 49th at +4 (72-72=142). Manuel Lozada is tied for 54th at +5 (72-73=145).
The third and final round of stroke play is set for Friday.
2023 SEC Championship
Stroke Play: April 19-21
Sea Island Golf Club – Seaside Course || St. Simons Island, Ga.
7,005 yards || Par 70
TEAM SCORES:
T1 #15 Texas A&M 269-279=548 / -12
T1 #17 Alabama 270-278=548 / -12
3 #9 Florida 277-273=550 / -10
T4 #1 Vanderbilt 276-278=554 / -6
T4 #13 Tennessee 278-276=554 / -6
6 #18 Mississippi State 275-280=555 / -5
7 #43 Missouri 281-277=558 / -2
8 #36 Arkansas 278-282-560 / E
9 #21 Ole Miss 275-286=561 / +1
T10 #8 Auburn 271-291=562 / +2
T10 #31 Georgia 280-282=562 / +2
12 #41 LSU 282-284=566 / +6
13 Kentucky 290-281=571 / +11
14 South Carolina 289-298=587 / +27
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