Caleb Surratt runs away with SEC Championship; Vols head for match play

For the fifth time in program history, Tennessee has an individual champion. Caleb Surratt shot rounds of 64-68-64 to take home the crown at Sea Island Golf Club.

“I think me and Webb’s chemistry on the course has led to a lot of good decisions and been followed by a lot of good shots,” Surratt said. “I think it’s a very fitting course for my game. All the elements have added up to a great result so far.”

Surratt’s 196 total is tied for second lowest in championship history for a 54 hole event.

“It’s just an all-around A week,” Surratt said. “I’ve not struggled with anything. If I had to pick something i was really pleased with it’s my putter. I made a lot of big putts today and I was pleased to see the ball going in like it did.”

The 14-under (826) performance this week at the SEC Championship shattered the program’s lowest 54-hole score in the history of the event (previously 843). It marks the fifth-lowest score in SEC Championship history by any school. Tennessee edged out Texas A&M for the low team total through the stroke play portion which helps seed the top eight teams for match play.

“I think as a program and as a player and even speaking for the guys sitting at home, everyone does the right things every day so it was just a matter of time until good things happened for Tennessee golf,” Surratt said.

Tennessee has three wins on the season as a team with now four individual championships. Things started to turn though with a rough week in Cabo.

“We just continue to circling back to Cabo and the disappointment we had in that tournament,” Brennan Webb said. “We went in inside the top ten and finished 11th out of 14 teams. We learned lessons and I can’t tell you how proud I am of these players for growing up and maturing. Since then we are about 65-2 against some of the best teams in the country,”

Tennessee will play Mississippi State tomorrow morning in the quarterfinals.

Saturday morning tee times:

7:30am – Bryce Lewis v. Clegg
7:40am – Caleb Surratt v. Logan
7:50am – Jake Hall v. Vukovits
8:00am – Laurent Desmarchais v. Pretorius
8:10 am – Josh Hill v. Endicott