Men's Golf Central: SEC Championship

The 13th-ranked Tennessee men's golf team begins postseason play Wednesday, competing at the SEC Championships in St. Simons Island, Georgia, at Sea Island Golf Club.

The event, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday, features three rounds of stroke play followed by three rounds of match play. The top eight teams following the final round of stroke play will advance to the match play portion of the tournament, with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday and the championship round on Sunday. For the fifth consecutive year, the final match play round will be televised live on SEC Network.

This marks the 22nd year for the SEC Championship to be contested on the Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course. In addition to hosting the SEC Championship, the par-70, 7,005-yard Tom Fazio re-designed course is home to the PGA Tour's annual RSM Classic.

Tennessee has captured three SEC Championships in program history, most recently in 2007. Since head coach Brennan Webb's arrival prior to the 2018-19 season, the Vols are one of just four SEC schools to make match play at the SEC Championships each year.

According to Golfstat's most recent rankings, seven of the SEC's 14 teams are ranked inside the top 25, including three in the top 10.

During the 2022 SEC Championships, UT finished seventh place as a team in stroke play, with VFL Spencer Cross shooting 3-under and finishing tied for fifth place overall and VFL Tyler Johnson shooting 1-over and placing tied for 23rd. Current Vol Bryce Lewis also recorded a top-25 finish in last year's conference tournament after shooting 2-over.

Tennessee is coming off a second-place finish in its last regular season tournament at the Mason Rudolph Championship, which was preceded by a program-record-tying third team tournament title of the season at the Mossy Oak Collegiate earlier this month.

THE VOLS' LINEUP
Caleb Surratt
Surratt is coming off his first regular season as a Vol where he logged five top-10 finishes and was Tennessee's highest finisher in four of its tournaments. The true freshman has also shot a program second-best 22 rounds of par or better so far this season and holds a team-leading 69.78 stroke average.

Bryce Lewis
Having finished tied for 20th (2021) and tied for 25th (2022) during his two career appearances at the SEC Championships, Lewis is set to make his third career appearance at Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course. This season alone, Lewis has notched six top-25 finishes, including an individual title at the Purdue Fall Invitational and a runner-up finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship.

Jake Hall
The redshirt junior currently holds a 71.19 stroke average and has shot 15 rounds of par or better this season. Hall has posted four top-25 finishes, including his individual title at the All-American Intercollegiate last month in which he shot a 7-under 209.

Laurent Desmarchais
Desmarchais has registered seven top-15 finishes this season, including a tied for 11th place finish at the Mossy Oak Collegiate where he shot a career low 54-hole score of 9-under 207. The Longueuil, Quebec, native has also shot par or better 19 times this season.

Josh Hill
The true freshman has carded eight par or better rounds this spring and currently holds a 72.36 scoring average. Hill is coming off a tied-for-26th place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship—his best finish this season as a member of Tennessee's lineup.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS (14)
No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 8 Auburn, No. 9 Florida, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 17 Alabama, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 31 Georgia, No. 36 Arkansas, No. 41 LSU, No. 43 Missouri, No. 62 South Carolina, No. 82 Kentucky

TEE TIMES
Wednesday, April 19 — Stroke Play Round One
Laurent Desmarchais — 8:20 a.m. ET
Josh Hill — 8:30 a.m. ET
Jake Hall — 8:40 a.m. ET
Bryce Lewis — 8:50 a.m. ET
Caleb Surratt — 9 a.m. ET

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Spencer Cross

Laurent Desmarchais

Jake Hall

Josh Hill

Tyler Johnson

Bryce Lewis

Caleb Surratt

University of Tennessee Athletics