Men’s Golf Heads to SEC Championship

The Missouri men’s golf team turns its focus toward the postseason with the SEC Championship teeing off on Wednesday morning in Georgia.

TOURNAMENT INFO
The 2023 SEC Championship begins on Wednesday morning with the first of three days of stroke play. Tee times begin at 7 a.m. CT at the Sea Island Golf Club.

After three days and 54 holes of stroke play, the top eight teams in the standings advance to match play, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Saturday, April 22 and the championship slated for Sunday, April 16. Sunday’s title bout is also set to air live on SEC Network. The 14-team field includes 12 schools ranked in the top 50 of the Golf Stat rankings, including seven in the top 20.

Rated No. 1 in the U.S. among the “World’s 50 Best Golf Hotels” by Golf Digest Index, Sea Island Golf Club offers three exceptional 18-hole championship courses. The Seaside Course, home to the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic, is a links course graced by majestic ocean vistas in the tradition of St. Andrews. The par 70 course measures 7,005 yards in length.

TIGERS AT THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
Competing in their 10th SEC Championship since joining the conference in 2022 and sixth since the league moved to a combined stroke play and match play championship, the Tigers have twice advanced to the quarterfinals (2017 and 2022). Last year, Mizzou finished fifth place after 54 holes of action – its best mark in school history – before being edged by No. 4 LSU.

Jack Parker led Mizzou by placing 15th during the stroke-play rounds, while Tommy Boone was 18th.

LINEUP
1 – Charlie Crockett
2 – Jack Lundin
3 – Alfons Bondesson
4 – Antonio Safa
5 – DJ Springer
Alt – Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson

QUOTABLES
Alfons Bondesson on seeing the course for the first time
“The guys have told me that it is similar to the first tournament that we played in Colleton River. So you kind of get an idea of what it looks like but you never know. Coach has also given me some advice with the greens and stuff like that.”

Charlie Crockett on Sea Island Golf Club
“Sea Island is a beautiful place. It’s on the water and the PGA Tour plays there. It’s a great course and it’s a great venue for this tournament. It’s going to play different than last year so we just have to asses it when we get there and see the golf course.”

Jack Lundin on key to playing Sea Island
“It’s the SEC Championship so the greens are going to be quick and firm. We’re really going to have to focus on putting out there this week.”

Antonio Safa on his first SEC Championship
“I’m really excited about going to SECs this week. I just want to go out and play well, just enjoy my time at Sea Island.”

Dagbjartur Sigurbrandsson on his performance at Tiger Collegiate
“I’ve been getting slowly better throughout the year and I’m just getting better each day. I feel pretty confident with my game right now. Just need to keep hitting one shot at a time and keep being positive.

DJ Springer on momentum heading into SEC Championship
“I feel like we are just getting started. It’s been a long spring semester but I think we’re just starting to get things rolling. Heading into the SEC Championship is just another tournament and we have to treat it like that. The same goal is to just go in and treat it the same like we do every tournament, play our best and try to win.”

Mark Hankins on expectations of Sea Island
“We’ve been caught before thinking a golf course is going to play a certain way. Earlier this year at Bulls Bay, it was a lot softer than we played in years past. We may have gotten a little too strategic before we got there. That’s the message we’ve been setting all week. Everybody has the same chance to get there and figure out the golf course. You have 24 hours of practice round and you have first round on Wednesday, second round on Thursday and final round on Friday. After that, they make a cut to the low eight teams and proceed from there.”