Arkansas loses to Auburn in SEC Championship semis

The No. 11 University of Arkansas men’s golf team’s run at the SEC Championships came to an end Saturday afternoon with a loss to Auburn at St. Simons Island, Ga.

The top-ranked and No. 1 seed Tigers took control in the early going and downed the Razorbacks 4-1 at the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.

Coach Brad McMakin’s Razorbacks now await their postseason destination, which will be announced during the NCAA selection show on Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Golf Channel.

Auburn advanced to the SEC Championships against Vanderbilt, which will take place Sunday at 7 a.m. on the SEC Network.

The No. 2 Commodores downed the No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies 3-1-1 in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, Arkansas senior Jacob Skov Olesen capped the Razorbacks’ SEC quarterfinal with a stunning comeback to take match 5 for a 3-2 win over No. 23 Georgia.

Olesen trailed Georgia freshman Camden Smith by four through 11 holes before winning Nos. 2-6 in succession with four birdies and a par to surge into the lead.

The duo halved their final three holes to give Olesen a 1-up victory to clinch the match.

Arkansas also got wins from junior Matthis Lefevre and senior Christian Castillo in the two and three spots against the Bulldogs.

Each of the Razorbacks held a lead at least once in what developed as a super-tight match.

In the first pairing, Georgia senior Caleb Manuel closed out Arkansas freshman Thomas Curry 2 and 1 by breaking a tie with a birdie on No. 7, their 16th hole, and a par on No. 8.

The Razorbacks got the point back as the junior Lefevre took down Ben van Wyk 2 and 1 in the second position.

Lefevre never trailed, taking the lead on No. 10 with a birdie, and owning a 1-up advantage on 10 holes through the first 15. Lefevre’s par on No. 7 gave him a 2-hole lead and he closed the match with a par on the 368-yard eighth.

Georgia junior Buck Brumlow trailed Arkansas senior John Driscoll by a hole through four but he rallied to build a lead of three through 15.

Driscoll scored par on the seventh and birdie on the eighth to draw within one, but the pair both had pars on the ninth as Brumlow took a 1 up win.

With the Olesen-Smith match tightening, Castillo continued to hold off Georgia grad student Connor Creasy. Castillo’s par on the par 3 third hole gave him a 2-up lead but he bogeyed the fourth to cut his advantage to one.

Creasy made birdie on the seventh to forge a tie, but Castillo went back up on the eighth with a par, then halved the 9th to win 1 up.

In the afternoon competition, Auburn junior Carson Bacha scored a 3-and-2 win over Driscoll to notch a point in the opening position, and junior Brendan Valdes capped a runaway 6-and-5 win over Castillo with a birdie on No. 13.

Driscoll held the lead on 10 consecutive holes from Nos. 2-11 before Bacha rallied to win four consecutive holes and take command. Valdes won four holes in a span of six to go up five and control his match.

Olesen and Auburn freshman Josiah Gilbert in the third pairing were never separated by more than one hole through their entire match.

Gilbert won the 15th with a birdie and maintained that lead with a 1 up advantage through 17 before Auburn clinched.

Curry lost his first two holes versus freshman Jackson Koivun, the stroke play medalist at 12 under, and fell behind by four through eight holes. Curry closed to within two holes with a birdie on No. 13 but he could get no closer in the 3-and-2 decision.

In the final pairing, Lefevre trailed by three through eight holes before winning three in a row. Lefevre took his first lead with a par on No. 13 and the match was called then as Auburn had the necessary points.