Men's golf claims rare victory for Arkansas in SEC title match
Julian Perico's short par putt on the 18th hole clinched Arkansas' 3-1-1 win over Auburn in the 2019 SEC Men's Golf Championship at Sea Island Golf Club on Sunday.
It is the Razorbacks' second SEC title and first since 1995, when the event was strictly stroke play.
The aforementioned short putt by Perico, a freshman, defeated Graysen Huff and gave Arkansas its third point of the day. Previously, William Buhl topped Jacob Solomon 3&2 and Tyson Reeder got a 2-up win over Trace Crowe
Auburn's lone point of the day came when Brandon Mancheno took down Mason Overstreet 6&5. The Tigers' Jovan Rebula and the Razorbacks' Luis Garza were all square on the 19th hole when Perico clinched the victory.
"We hung in there all day long," Arkansas head coach Brad McMakin said. "William (Buhl) went out and won that first point, which I think is so key in match play. After Auburn tied it, Luis Garza and Julian were down one or two through 13 holes but they continued to fight and make a couple of putts
"These guys will always be champions together. This is a very close group, maybe the closest I've coached. They really came together over the last two months."
Arkansas will now await its NCAA Regional assignment during the selection show on the Golf Channel at 9 p.m. Wednesday. If they place in the top five of their regional, the Razorbacks will return to Fayetteville to play in the NCAA Championship at the Blessings Golf Club.
Rare victory in SEC title game/match
Sunday's victory by the men's golf team is also significant because it's just the fourth time - in 31 attempts - that the Razorbacks have won an SEC Championship game or match.
The track and field and cross country programs for the men and women have combined to win numerous SEC titles, but the format is such that they aren't playing in a true championship game or match against one other team.
Similarly, the men's golf team's 1995 title came in stroke play. It wasn't until a few years ago that the golf championship was decided through match play, which pits two teams in a final match.
As you can see in the chart below, Arkansas' only other wins were in volleyball (1997), men's basketball (2000) and women's golf (2018). Here is the individual breakdown by sport...
~Volleyball: 1-7
~Men's basketball: 1-6
~Soccer: 0-5
~Baseball: 0-4
~Football: 0-3
~Men's golf: 1-0
~Women's golf: 1-0
~Women's basketball: 0-1
~Softball: 0-1
| Year | Sport | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1993 |
Soccer |
Vanderbilt |
L, 3-2 (2OT) |
|
1995 |
Men's Basketball |
Kentucky |
L, 95-93 (OT) |
|
1995 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-0 |
|
1995 |
Football |
Florida |
L, 34-3 |
|
1996 |
Soccer |
Florida |
L, 3-2 (2OT) |
|
1996 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-1 |
|
1997 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
W, 3-0 |
|
1998 |
Baseball |
Auburn |
L, 7-5 |
|
1998 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-1 |
|
1999 |
Men's Basketball |
Kentucky |
L, 76-63 |
|
1999 |
Baseball |
Alabama |
L, 9-3 |
|
1999 |
Softball |
LSU |
L, 4-3 |
|
1999 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-1 |
|
2000 |
Men's Basketball |
Auburn |
W, 75-67 |
|
2001 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-2 |
|
2002 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-1 |
|
2002 |
Football |
Georgia |
L, 30-3 |
|
2003 |
Volleyball |
Florida |
L, 3-0 |
|
2006 |
Football |
Florida |
L, 38-28 |
|
2007 |
Men's Basketball |
Florida |
L, 77-56 |
|
2007 |
Baseball |
Vanderbilt |
L, 7-4 |
|
2008 |
Men's Basketball |
Georgia |
L, 66-57 |
|
2015 |
Men's Basketball |
Kentucky |
L, 78-63 |
|
2016 |
Soccer |
Florida |
L, 2-1 (OT) |
|
2017 |
Men's Basketball |
Kentucky |
L, 82-65 |
|
2017 |
Baseball |
LSU |
L, 4-2 |
|
2017 |
Soccer |
Texas A&M |
L, 2-1 |
|
2018 |
Women's Golf |
South Carolina |
W, 3-2 |
|
2018 |
Soccer |
LSU |
L, 1-1 (4-1 PKs) |
|
2019 |
Women's Basketball |
Mississippi State |
L, 101-70 |
|
2019 |
Men's Golf |
Auburn |
W, 3-1-1 |