April 28, 2018
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - The fourth-seeded Auburn men's golf team knocked off top-seeded LSU in the semifinals of match play at the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championship, 4-1, Saturday afternoon at Sea Island Golf Club.
"It was a great match," head coach Nick Clinard said. "LSU has a great team with great players. It was fun to watch us neck-and-neck all day. Our guys showed a lot of grit, they grinded it out and we happened to come out on the better end."
With the win, Auburn has advanced to the title match against Alabama Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. CT off the first tee on SEC Network.
The winning putt came from freshman Brandon Mancheno when he buried a par to defeat LSU's Jacob Bergeron on the 19th hole in a playoff. The two golfers each shared a one-hole lead on the back nine before heading to what proved to be the deciding hole.
In the top spot, sophomore Jovan Rebula opened with the lead on the first hole and never fell behind, matching Philip Barbaree from LSU stroke for stroke for the next 15 holes. On the 17th, however, Barbaree knotted the match back up with one hole to go.
On the 18th, Rebula buckled down and sank the clinching putt for par and the point as Barbaree settled for a bogey.
Junior Trace Crowe also emerged victorious in his bout with LSU's Luis Gagne in similar fashion. Following an even front nine, Crowe took the lead on the 12th hole, but Gagne locked the score back up on the 17th. To the same tune as his teammate, Crowe stepped up and earned a par to take the point with Gagne bogeying the challenging final hole.
With the result in hand, sophomore Ryan Knop and freshman Wells Padgett had their matches halted. Knop was 1-up with one to play, while Padgett was in the midst of a three-hole comeback against his opponent.
Auburn is set to take on sixth-seeded Alabama, who defeated second-seeded Florida 3-1-1, in the championship match Sunday morning at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
2018 SEC Championship Semifinals - Match Play
(4) Auburn 4, (1) LSU 1
Jovan Rebula (AU) def. Philip Barbaree (LSU), 1-up
Trace Crowe (AU) def. Luis Gagne (LSU), 1-up
Brandon Mancheno (AU) def. Jacob Bergeron (LSU), 1-up (19)
Ryan Knop (AU) def. Trey Winstead, 1-up
Nathan Jeansonne (LSU) def. Wells Padgett, 1-up
Semifinal Matches
(4) Auburn def. (1) LSU, 4-1
(6) Alabama def. (2) Florida, 3-1-1
Championship Match
(4) Auburn vs. (6) Alabama - 6:30 a.m. CT (SEC Network)