University of Missouri
SEC Championship
@MizzouMensGolf Opens Postseason at SEC Men’s Golf Championship
4/20/2017 3:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
No. 24 Tigers head to Sea Island Golf Club seeking first-ever SEC Championship
COLUMBIA, Mo. - After winning its last regular season event by 18 strokes, No. 24 Mizzou Men's Golf heads to the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship (Friday, April 21-Monday, April 24) looking to carry its regular season momentum into the postseason. The Tigers will be playing at the beautiful Sea Island Golf Club with something to prove, as head coach Mark Leroux's squad seeks its first SEC title during the five years Mizzou has been in the conference.
The field is filled with outstanding competition in St. Simmons Island, Georgia, featuring eight teams ranked in Golfstat's top-25, including No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 LSU, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 19 Auburn, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 25 Georgia. Though the competition will be the toughest the Tigers have faced this season, Leroux's squad has proven it can play with the elites, as the Tigers beat both Vanderbilt and Florida head-to-head, when the Tigers took team runners-up honors at the Suntrust Gator Invitational in February.
Leading Mizzou into the postseason is senior Linus Lilliedahl (Sandviken, Sweden), who finished out his excellent regular season with his first-ever individual tournament championship at the Tiger Invitational at The Club at Old Hawthorne. Lilliedahl's final Black & Gold season was filled with highlights, as he finished second on the team in rounds under-par, events under-par, while leading the squad in stroke average.
Following Lilliedahl in the lineup is fellow senior Euan Walker (Troon, Scotland), who had one of the best regular seasons the men's golf program has seen in some time. Walker finished the season with 14 rounds under-par, a team best, while also finishing seven of his nine events under-par, the most by any Tiger this season. His 71.4 stroke average trailed Lilliedahl's mark by just .2 strokes per round.
Junior Hayden Buckley (Belden, Miss.) travels in the third spot for the Black & Gold, and he has earned it with his play during the spring. The fall campaign was a tough one for Buckley, as he had to overcome a nagging injury and get back into the swing of things. During the spring season, he has done just that, finishing three of his five events during spring play under-par. He capped that recent string of success and the regular season with a second-place finish on his home course at the Tiger Invitational. Though this team is led by the dynamic senior duo of Lilliedahl and Walker, Buckley's best golf has helped elevate the Tigers in recent action.
In the fourth slot for Leroux is freshman Rory Franssen (Inverness, Scotland), who had a nice bounce-back tournament at the Tiger Invitational. He finished the event in 12th, shooting 3-over-par across 54 holes. The Tiger Invitational capped what was a masterful freshman campaign for Franssen, who finished fourth on the team in both rounds and events played under-par behind Lilliedahl, Walker and Buckley. The Team Europe Arnold Palmer selection has talent to spare, and will look to put it all together again in his conference tournament.
Rounding out the traveling lineup is junior Trevor Ullestad (Jewell, Iowa), who will look to recapture his form from an excellent fall season. The Indian Hills Community College transfer is no newcomer to high stakes postseason action though, as he helped guide IHCC to an NJCAA National Championship as a freshman and a fourth-place finish as a sophomore. That experience could play a role in guiding his play this weekend.
Follow the Tigers throughout the event on GolfStat.com.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Golf, stay tuned to MUTigers.com or follow the program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouMensGolf).
