AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn men's golf team officially kicks off postseason play this week, Wednesday through Sunday, at the 2022 SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
"Sea Island is a phenomenal venue to host the SEC Championship," Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. "It's been our host since 2001 for a reason. It can be a tough test with some potentially high winds. It's going to force you to control your spin and trajectory and really have to zone in on putting it in the right spot so that you can score your golf ball."
The first three days of competition will consist of 54 holes of stroke-play action before the 14-team field is dwindled down to eight to begin one-on-one match play Saturday and Sunday to determine the tournament champion.
The Tigers will be represented by five golfers who have proved themselves amongst the toughest of environments year-round. Suiting up will be J.M. Butler, Alex Vogelsong, Evan Vo, Austin Coggin and C.J. Easley. Together, the fivesome has combined for 20 top-20 finishes, 50 rounds below par and over 400 birdies.
Three of the five Auburn golfers – Butler, Vogelsong and Easley – have one year of experience on the Seaside Course prior to this year.
Sophomore Carson Bacha will also make the trip as the team's sixth player during the week as SEC Championship rules allow for the substitution of an extra player at the beginning of any round during the competition.
"The postseason is really where this becomes a team sport. I'm excited to watch our guys lean on each other for that energy that is so crucial at this time of year. Our group thrives in that type of scenario, and I'd put our six up against any six in the country."
Of the 14 SEC schools at this year's event, nine are ranked inside Golfweek's top-25. The No. 15 Tigers are accompanied by No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Georgia, No. 11 Arkansas, No. 12 Florida, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 19 LSU, No. 22 Tennessee and No. 24 Ole Miss.
In 2021, the Tigers just missed out on the stroke-play cut, finishing tied for ninth with a score of 20-over 860. Andrew Kozan led the Auburn charge at 212 (+2).
Historically, Auburn has left SECs victorious on four occasions – 1976, 1981, 2002 and most recently in 2018. In 2019, Jovan Rebula captured the individual stroke play title, and the Tigers captured the team stroke play title before falling in the final round of match play.
To kickstart this year's championship, Auburn will be paired with Florida and Tennessee, teeing off from the 10th hole beginning at 7:20 a.m. CT.
Live scoring throughout the week will be available on Golfstat.com. Digital coverage will be available for Saturday's semifinals on the SEC Network+ and for Sunday's finale on the SEC Network. Additional information can be located at the Men's Golf Championship Hub.
