April 22, 2007
SEA ISLAND, Ga. - Junior Patton Kizzire became the fourth Auburn golfer to win the SEC individual title, as the 24th-ranked Tigers finished third with a 304-288-282--874 at the SEC Championship at the par-70, 6,991-yard Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club Sunday.
Kizzire followed scores of 72 and 69 in the first two rounds with a third round 70 to finish with a 1-over 211.
"It feels awesome," Kizzire said. "It is kind of a relief. A lot of people have been expecting a lot of things out of me, and I finally pulled through."
Kizzire joins Jimmy Green (1991), Bryant MacKellar (1997) and Roland Thatcher (2000) as Auburn's SEC Champions. The win is the first in his three-year career.
"It feels great for this to be such a big tournament and to be such a big win," Kizzire said. "It's kind of a double-bonus. Beating all of the guys in the SEC is a feat in itself. It is a great accomplishment for me."
Kizzire entered the day with a three-shot cushion and quickly lengthened his lead with birdies on Nos. 1 and 4. He finished the day with three birdies.
"I couldn't be prouder of Patton," head coach Mike Griffin said. He played great golf obviously. I was most proud of Patton for not fighting himself on the golf course. He was a competitor. He was cool, calm and collected. He was a champion. He is back to the old Patton that I remember. That was some kind of golf this week."
Sixteenth-ranked Tennessee claimed the team title with a 301-283-285--869. No. 3 Alabama finished second with a 298-288-285--869 followed by No. 24 Auburn (304-288-282--874), Ole Miss (295-293-282--874), No. 4 Florida (304-284-290--878), No. 1 Georgia (308-289-286--883), Vanderbilt (302-295-289--886), South Carolina (304-297-287--888), LSU (301-297-294--892), Arkansas (316-295-286--897), Kentucky (312-293-296--901) and Mississippi State (304-307-302--913).
Auburn tied the school record with its eighth straight top-five SEC finish. The Tigers also finished fifth or better each year from 1988-1995.
Sophomore Glenn Northcutt carded Auburn's lowest round of the weekend with a final round 68. He tied for ninth with an 81-70-68--219. Junior Gordon Strother tied for 31st with a 77-75-71--223 followed by junior Jay Moseley in a tie for 45th with a 77-79-73--229 and junior Jamie Bowen in a tie for 49th with a 78-74-79--231.
After nine birdies on the front nine, the Tigers made the turn at 3-under and were just two shots out of the lead.
"The thing that's most exciting was to get in the hunt like we told them we would," Griffin said. "For that I'm proud of them. We were two back with nine holes to play. That's all you can ask. We were in the hunt."
Tennessee's Chris Paisley (76-70-69--215) and Tino Weiss (74-70-71--215) tied for second, four shots behind Kizzire.
"It definitely helps having a good tournament leading into regionals," Kizzire said. We know how good we are, but we just have to do it. We will have more confidence going into regionals. We are peaking at the right time."
Bids for the NCAA Regionals will be announced May 7. The sites for the East, Central and West Regionals are Alpharetta, Ga., Sugar Grove, Ill., and Tempe, Ariz., respectively.