Medalist winner Alejandro Tosti of Florida
(Golfweek Photo)
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, SC (April 22, 2017) - The SEC
Men's Championship individual race came down to
a playoff on Saturday between Alejandro Tosti and
Patrick Martin. Following a pair of four's on the first
extra
hole at the Seaside Course of Sea Island Golf Club it
was Tosti with a four on the next hole that was able
to take the title.
The individual title was the 21st time that a
Florida Gator had medaled at the SEC Men's
Championship and the first since 2011.
"He's just amazing. I'm so proud of his hard
work. He's put a lot of time and effort into his game,
working on his metal game and maturing and it paid
off today, winning the SEC tournament," Florida
head coach J.C. Deacon said of Tosti. "It's a pretty
incredible feat."
Tosti, a junior, began the day in the lead and
played well in the final round, firing a bogey-free 3-
under 67 to post 10-under. The day started
quickly for Tosti as he birdied the opening hole and
then two others but following his last birdie on No.
15 it was three pars to the house.
Patrick Martin, a sophomore for Vanderbilt, was
one-stroke better then Tosti in the final round with a
4-under 66 and he could have
won the individual title in regulation had it not been
for a bogey on the last.
Even-par after the front nine, Martin struck a
torrid back nine pace birdieing the 11th and
13th before eagling the par-5 15th. Two holes later
Martin took the lead at 11-under with a birdie on the
17th only to
give the shot back on the next hole.
Chandler Phillips (Texas A&M) and Braden
Thornberry (Ole Miss) shared third at 6-under while
in a tie for fifth at 5-under it was Greyson Sigg
(Georgia) and Cameron Champ (Texas A&M).
In the team standings No. 3 Vanderbilt closed
with an 8-under tally to finish 11-under and claim
the top-seed for match play.
36-hole leading No. 18 Texas A&M was second
at 5-under, No. 6 LSU placed third at 3-under, in
fourth it was fifth-ranked Florida at 2-under while
South Carolina with a 9-over mark took fifth.
Sunday marks the first time that match play
has been used at the SEC Men's Championship and
the schedule is as follows. On Sunday morning the
quarterfinal matches will be played, followed by the
semifinals in the afternoon before the final two
teams square off in the title tilt Monday morning.
Quarterfinal Matches
No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 8 Ole Miss
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 South Carolina
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 Missouri
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 Alabama
-Florida athletics contributed to this story
ABOUT THE
SEC Championship
54-hole stroke play tournament crowns an individual
champion, then eight teams advance to match play
to
determine the SEC team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information