ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - The top-seeded Auburn men's golf team fell to seventh-seeded Arkansas, 3-1-1, in the 2019 Southeastern Conference Championship match Sunday morning.
The match ended on the 18th hole when Arkansas' Julian Perico defeated Graysen Huff with a par on the 470-yard, par-4 to give the Razorbacks their third point. Jovan Rebula was in a playoff with Luis Garza when play was halted due to the clinching score being reached.
Brandon Mancheno earned the Tigers' lone point when he defeated Mason Overstreet in dominating fashion, 6&5.
"We just didn't play very well," head coach Nick Clinard said. "Our two seniors got beat early, but Trace (Crowe) was able to take it down to the last hole to show a lot of grit and grind. We just came up short in the stick. Our last three guys played very well. Brandon was 7-under today. He trounced his guy."
Jacob Solomon, Trace Crowe and Huff were defeated in their matches 3&2, 2-up and 1-up, respectively.
The shot of the day came from Mancheno as he holed out on the par-4 11th from 126 yards away on his second swing.
Despite coming up short in their quest to repeat at SEC champions, the Tigers now shift their focus to the NCAA Regionals, May 13-15.
"We had a great week," Clinard said. "We won stroke play in convincing fashion to prove that we were the best team in the conference and then went and made it to the finals in match play. We'll hold our heads high and get ready for the next one."
2019 SEC Championship Match - Match Play
(7) Arkansas 3, (1) Auburn 1
William Buhl (ARK) def. Jacob Solomon (AU), 3&2
Tyson Reeder (ARK) def. Trace Crowe (AU), 2-up
Jovan Rebula (AU) ties Luis Garza (ARK), A/S
Julian Perico (ARK) def. Graysen Huff (AU), 1-up
Brandon Mancheno (AU) def. Mason Overstreet (ARK), 6&5