ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Playing its second match of the day, the top-seeded Auburn men's golf team won a thriller over fourth-seeded Kentucky in the semifinals of the 2019 Southeastern Conference Championship Saturday afternoon, 3-2.
The Tigers earned the result behind Jovan Rebula, who won his match on the third playoff hole over Kentucky's Fred Allen Meyer.
"It was stressful and there was a little too much drama to start with, but I'm really proud of the guys," head coach Nick Clinard said. "Jovan is the British Amateur champion and he played in The Masters. He's a warrior out there."
Rebula led by one heading into the final hole, but Meyer won the 18th, sending the match into a playoff.
Both players matched their competitors scores, but not without drama.
On the second playoff hole - the No. 11 hole on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club - Rebula landed his second shot roughly 15 feet from the hole. Despite a great approach shot, he was outdone by Meyer, who stuck his second shot only a foot or two from the cup.
Rebula, knowing Meyer had an easy tap-in, stepped up and buried the long putt to send the match to a third playoff hole - the par-3 12th hole.
Rebula's tee shot landed on the green, while Meyer was unable to find his errant tee shot, thus drawing a stroke penalty. Meyer planted his second attempt from the tee box on the green, but missed the putt and eventually conceded the match to Rebula and Auburn.
"Jovan refused to lose," Clinard said. "You could tell that by the putt he made on No. 11 on the second playoff hole. He wasn't going to hit a bad shot in the playoff. It was just going to come down to if somebody could get a birdie on him."
Trace Crowe and Brandon Mancheno joined Rebula in the win column. Crowe earned a 3&2 victory, while Mancheno dominated in a 6&5 result.
With the win, Auburn has advanced to the championship match for the second consecutive year and is set to face seventh-seeded Arkansas, who defeated third-seed Texas A&M by the same 3-2 score later in the afternoon.
Tee times are set for 6:30 a.m. CT. The SEC Network will televise the match and live stats are available on Golfstat.com.
2019 SEC Championship Semifinals - Match Play
(1) Auburn 3, (4) Kentucky 2
Matt Liston (UK) def. Jacob Solomon (AU), 2&1
Jovan Rebula (AU) def. Fred Allen Meyer (UK), 21 holes
Trace Crowe (AU) def. Maximillian Mehles (UK), 3&2
Lukas Euler (UK) def. Graysen Huff (AU), 1-up
Brandon Mancheno (AU) def. Cullan Brown (UK), 6&5
Semifinal Matches
(1) Auburn def. (4) Kentucky, 3-2
(7) Arkansas def. (3) Arkansas, 3-2
Championship Match
(1) Auburn vs. (7) Arkansas - 6:30 a.m. CT (SEC Network)