ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — The Georgia men’s golf team dropped a 3-1-1 decision to Florida on Saturday in the match play quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship.
The Bulldogs’ lone victory came from senior Trent Phillips, who posted a 4&3 decision over Tyler Wilkes. Phillips took the lead on the second hole on Saturday and never relinquished his advantage. Phillips won five of the first nine holes to seize control.
In the other matches, freshman Buck Brumlow fell 5&3 to Yuxin Lin, junior Nicolas Cassidy dropped a 2&1 decision to SEC medalist John Dubois, and junior Ben van Wyk lost to Ricky Castillo 3&2. Freshman Maxwell Ford was all square in his match with Fred Biondi when the match was clinched.
“We of course are disappointed in the outcome,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said. “It was a tough, hard-fought match, and we tip our caps to Florida. We still have some important goals ahead of us and there’s a lot of golf left to be played. We will get back to work next week, build on the positives, and get ready for the stretch run.”
The Bulldogs now will await their assignment for an NCAA Regional. The selections will be made Wednesday, May 4, at 4 p.m. on Golf Channel’s College Central. The regionals will take place May 16-18 in Bryan, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; New Haven, Conn.; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Stockton, Calif.; and Tuscaloosa, Ala. The top five teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 27-June 1.