ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Auburn junior Jovan Rebula defeated fellow Tiger Graysen Huff in a 4-hole playoff to win the 2019 Southeastern Conference individual title. Rebula is the fifth Auburn Tiger all-time to be crowned as the conference's individual champion and the first since Patton Kizzire won in 2007.
"This is a true honor," Rebula said. "Coming from South Africa, I did not know what the SEC was until I started playing and, seeing the amount of great players, to have my name on that board is truly an honor.
"It is a little bittersweet because Graysen and I are close friends. I have a ton of respect for him for his golf and as a person. He's a great leader for our team. He always does the right thing. He's a great friend and an unbelievable teammate."
Rebula, who trailed by two strokes entering the final round, fired a 3-under 67 to put himself in the lead with one hole left as Huff began the 18th hole.
Huff set himself up with an approach shot that put him 15-feet from the hole. Sitting one stroke behind his teammate, the junior stepped up and sank the birdie to send the title to a playoff.
Both players carded pars on the first three playoff holes. On the 22nd hole of the day and fourth playoff hole, Rebula turned in a birdie and sealed the title with a long putt to join Jimmy Green (1991), Bryant MacKellar (1997), Roland Thatcher (2000) and Kizzire (2007) as Auburn golfers to win the SEC individual crown.
Meanwhile, Auburn blew away the competition in the final round of stroke play on a windy day at the par-70 Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club. The Tigers shot a 5-under 275 to take the top spot by 16 strokes - tied for the biggest margin since Georgia won by 18 strokes in 1988.
Auburn concluded stroke play at 24-under (272-269-275--816) and are joined in match play by Vanderbilt (832), Texas A&M (843), Kentucky (843), Tennessee (846), Georgia (846), Arkansas (855) and South Carolina (856).
The Tigers had all five players record top-25 finishes, while Rebula (first), Huff (second) and Trace Crowe (sixth) finished in the top 10.
"The guys really played great and proved that they can win a stroke play tournament, and that was something we really wanted to do," head coach Nick Clinard said. "We did that and we're proud of it, but now we've got to get our minds right for match play. We've got to be ready to go Saturday morning."
Auburn, who earned the top seed, is set to face eighth-seeded South Carolina in the quarterfinals of match play Saturday morning with tee times beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT.
Should the Tigers advance, they would take on the winner of 4-seed Kentucky and 5-seed Tennessee in the semifinals of the SEC Championship Saturday afternoon with the broadcast on SEC Network+.
Live scoring for the SEC Championship is available on Golfstat.com.
Team Scores
1. Auburn: -24 (272-269-275--816)
2. Vanderbilt: -8 (277-273-282--832)
T-3. Texas A&M: +3 (281-273-289--843)
T-3. Kentucky: +3 (275-280-288--843)
T-5. Tennessee: +6 (280-274-292--846)
T-5. Georgia: +6 (272-279-295--846)
7. Arkansas: +15 (281-274-300--855)
8. South Carolina: +16 (279-277-300--856)
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9. LSU: +17 (282-282-293--857)
10. Ole Miss: +22 (275-283-304--862)
T-11. Florida: +35 (291-287-297--875)
T-11. Missouri: +35 (289-287-299--875)
13. Mississippi State: +38 (290-280-308--878)
14. Alabama: +42 (292-278-312--882)
Auburn Individuals
1. Jovan Rebula: -8 (68-67-67--202) *
2. Graysen Huff: -8 (67-66-69--202) *
T-6. Trace Crowe: -4 (69-68-69--206)
14. Jacob Solomon: -1 (71-68-70--209)
T-24. Brandon Mancheno: +4 (68-70-76--214)
* Rebula (AU) def. Huff (AU) in 4-hole playoff for individual title
Quarterfinal Matches
(1) Auburn vs. (8) South Carolina - 6:30 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
(4) Kentucky vs. (5) Tennessee - 6:30 a.m. CT (#10 tee)
(3) Texas A&M vs. (6) Georgia - 7:20 a.m. CT (#10 tee)
(2) Vanderbilt vs. (7) Arkansas - 7:20 a.m. CT (#1 tee)
Match Play Pairings (#1 tee)
Jacob Solomon (AU) vs. Ryan Stachler (SC) - 6:30 a.m. CT
Jovan Rebula (AU) vs. Caleb Proveaux (SC) - 6:40 a.m. CT
Graysen Huff (AU) vs. Will Miles (SC) - 6:50 a.m. CT
Trace Crowe (AU) vs. Scott Stevens (SC) - 7:00 a.m. CT
Brandon Mancheno (AU) vs. Jamie Wilson (SC) - 7:10 a.m. CT