Razorbacks Have Near Record Day 1 at SEC Match Play

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The #27 Arkansas men’s golf program traded blows with #6 Auburn atop the leaderboard and would finish day one at the SEC Match Play, hosted by Jerry Pate, with a 36-hole score of 540 (-28) to sit in second place. The Razorbacks are two strokes behind the first-place Tigers and five strokes ahead of third-place and #3 Vanderbilt. Arkansas placed four golfers inside the top 10, including John Driscoll III tied for third and Jacob Skov Olesen tied for eight while Thomas Curry and John Daly II are tied for 14th and 17th, respectively.

The Razorbacks’ scores of 540 total and 28-under-par are both the second-lowest, 36-hole results for a 54-hole event in school history. The record came last spring when Arkansas shot 537 (-39) for two rounds in the NCAA Salem (S.C.) Regional.

Also, Arkansas’ second-round score of 268 ties for the fourth-best, 18-hole total in school history while the first-round total of 272  ties for the 15th-best, 18-hole total in program history. The 16-under in relation to par in the afternoon session ranks fifth-best for 18 holes while the 12-under in relation to par in the morning ties for 17th-best.

“The guys played great all day today,” said head coach Brad McMakin. “It was the most consistent golf by five players in tournament competition for 36 holes in one day that I’ve seen in my now 18 years at Arkansas.”

Driscoll (68-65=133) is 9-under and tied for third. He started on hole 13 and was 1-under after nine holes before posting an eagle on his 10th hole, the par-5, 4th hole. He dropped a shot on the par-4, 7th hole but birdied his 16th hole – the par-5, 10th hole, to post his 68. In the afternoon, Driscoll carded a bogey-free 65 to tie his career-best round (set in his freshman season). He had birdies on his second and third holes – the 14th and 15th holes – then reeled off four straight pars on holes 2-5 before finishing with seven pars for his 6-under-par round.

Olesen (68-67=135) is 7-under through 36 holes and tied for eighth. He began the day with a birdie on his opening hole, the par-4, 14th. He fell back to even with a bogey on his third hole but had birdies on holes 1, 2 and 4 to climb to 3-under. After dropping a shot on the par-4, 9th hole, Olesen had a birdie on his 17th hole, the par-4, 12th. In the afternoon, the graduate senior was 5-under with no bogeys through 16 holes. However, he suffered a bogey on his 17th hole, the par-4, 12th, and settled for his 4-under-par round of 67.

Curry, a true freshman, was making his collegiate debut and fired a pair of 68’s to stand in a tie for 14th with a 6-under total of 136. He started his collegiate career with a birdie on the

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The #27 Arkansas men’s golf program traded blows with #6 Auburn atop the leaderboard and would finish day one at the SEC Match Play, hosted by Jerry Pate, with a 36-hole score of 540 (-28) to sit in second place. The Razorbacks are two strokes behind the first-place Tigers and five strokes ahead of third-place and #3 Vanderbilt. Arkansas placed four golfers inside the top 10, including John Driscoll III being tied for third and Jacob Skov Olesen being tied for eight while Thomas Curry and John Daly II are tied for 14th and 17th, respectively.

The Razorbacks’ scores of 540 total and 28-under-par are both the second-lowest, 36-hole result for a 54-hole event in school history. The record came last spring when Arkansas shot 537 (-39) for two rounds in the NCAA Salem (S.C.) Regional.

Also, Arkansas’ second-round score of 268 ties for the fourth-best, 18-hole total in school history while the first-round total od 272 ties for the 15th-best, 18-hole total in program history. The 16-under in relation to par in the afternoon session ranks fifth-best for 18 holes while the 12-under in relation to par in the morning ties for 17th-best.

“The guys played great all day today,” said head coach Brad McMakin. “It was the most consistent golf by five players in tournament competition for 36 holes in one day that I’ve seen in my now 18 years at Arkansas.”

Driscoll (68-65=133) is 9-under and tied for third. He started on hole 13 and was 1-under after nine hole before posting an eagle on the his 10th hole, the par-5, 4th hole. He dropped a shot on the par-4, 7th hole but birdied his 16th hole – the par-5, 10th hole, to post his 68. In the afternoon, Driscoll carded a bogey-free 65 to tie his career-best round (set in his freshman season). He had birdies on his second and third holes – the 14th and 15th holes – then reeled off four-straight on holes 2-5 before finishing with seven pars for his 6-under-par round.

Olesen (68-67=135) is 7-under through 36 holes and tied for eighth. He began the day with a birdie on his opening hole, the par-4, 14th. He fell back to even with a bogey on his third hole but had birdies on holes 1, 2 and 4 to climb to 3-under. After dropping a shot on the par-4, 9th hole, Olesen had a birdie on his 17th hole, the par-4, 12th. In the afternoon, the graduate senior was 5-under with no bogeys through 16 holes. However, he suffered a bogey on his 17th hole, the par-4, 12th, and settled for his 4-under-par round of 67.

Curry, a true freshman, was making his collegiate debut and fired a pair of 68’s to stand in a tie for 14th with a 6-under total of 136. He started his collegiate career with a birdie on the par-5, 15th hole. He added birdies on holes 3, 4 and 5 but had a bogey on his 16th hole, the par-3, 13th, to post his first 68. His afternoon session was a little more up-and-down with four birdies and two bogeys through 17 holes. The Texarkana, Texas, product ended his day as he started with a birdie to turn in his second 68 on the day.

John Daly II is tied for 17th (68-69=137) as he tied for fifth-most birdies in the field for 36 holes (11). He was even through his first three holes but went double-bogey, bogey on his fourth and fifth holes (holes 1 and 2). The redshirt sophomore rallied with birdies on holes 3, 5, 6, 10 and 12 for a 3-under 68. In the afternoon, Daly offset three bogeys with five birdies for a 2-under-par round of 69.

Manuel Lozada is tied for 31st at 1-under for 36 holes (141). He posted a 2-over 73 in the morning but bounced back with a 3-under-par 68 in the afternoon. His second round was bolstered with an eagle on the par-5, 4th hole, and birdies on holes 6, 13 and 16.

Driscoll and Lozada were two of eight golfers to record an eagle on Monday – Driscoll in round one on the par-5, 4th hole and Lozada in round two on the same hole.

The third annual event, won by Arkansas in 2021, will feature 18 more holes of stroke play on Tuesday. The final day will be one round of match play with seedings based on the 54-hole stroke play finish. For example, the top two seeds will play for the title, third place will be determined by the winner of the #3 and #4 seeds and so on.

After SEC Match Play, the Razorbacks return to action five days later as host of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 2-4).

SEC Match Play – hosted by Jerry Pate
Sept. 25-26 – Stroke Play
Sept. 27 – Match Play
Birmingham Country Club || Birmingham, Ala.
7,226 yards || Par 71

Results Thru Rd1 (36 Holes):
1 #6 Auburn 274-264=538 (-30)
2 #27 Arkansas 272-268=540 (-28)
3 #3 Vanderbilt 276-269+545 (-23)
T4 #17 Texas A&M 270-278=548 (-20)
T4 #24 Ole Miss 276-272=548 (-20)
6 #12 Tennessee 278-272=550 (-18)
T7 #21 Mississippi State 275-282=557 (-11)
T7 #8 Florida 285-272=557 (-11)
9 LSU 280-282=562 (-6)
10 #13 Alabama 284-279=563 (-5)
11 #20 Georgia 280-286=566 (-2)
T12 Kentucky 282-286=568 (E)
T12 Missouri 286-282=568 (E)
14 #43 South Carolina 291-285=576 (+6)

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