No. 3 Arkansas looks to keep hot streak

FAYETTEVILLE — A new format is in store for the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks at the SEC women’s golf championships, which start at 8 a.m. today at the Greystone Golf and Country Club in Hoover, Ala.

The SEC decided this year to play three rounds of stroke play, narrow the field to eight, and then play three rounds of match play in two days to reflect the NCAA championship format.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which will tee off with No. 1 Alabama and No. 9 South Carolina, will be aiming for its sixth title of the season and its first SEC championship.

“They’ve prepared since August and I think everybody’s in a great place,” Arkansas Coach

Shauna Estes-Taylor said. “We had great regular season performances by everyone and we feel like we’re in a great position.

“We try to prime ourselves for this part of the year. Our goal is to go out and win each day. If we do that we’ll definitely be in a position to add [an SEC championship]

to our record books.”

The Razorbacks will be led by junior Maria Fassi, the nation’s No. 2 golfer, who has won five tournaments this season. No. 10 Alana Uriell and No. 12 Dylan Kim, Kaylee Benton and Cara Gorlei will round out the Razorbacks’ lineup.

“Maria Fassi has been a solid rock for us all year,” Estes-Taylor said. “She’s won five times and played some tremendous golf.

“To do great things it takes a group effort and that’s what we talk about a lot. … Everybody’s done a fantastic job this year of contributing across the board. Maria’s been at the top of the leader board a lot, but we’ve got three girls in the top 12 in the nation. Overall, we have a very solid, deep team and it’s a fun bunch of girls to be around, too.”

Six of the nation’s top 25 teams will be in the field, with No. 13 Florida, No. 20 Auburn and No. 24 Vanderbilt joining the top three.

Greystone is hosting the tournament for the sixth consecutive season at its Legacy Course.