The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
SEC Championship
Wegener Paces Rebels in SEC Championship Debut
4/25/2018 | Men's Golf
LEADERBOARD | ROUND 2 PAIRINGS
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. â€" Wind off the coast played havoc on day one of the SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course, but Cecil Wegener kept a level head in his conference tournament debut. The freshman fired an opening round 70 (E) to lead the Ole Miss men's golf team on the first of three days of stroke play.
The No. 34 Rebels sit in a tie for eighth after day one, tied with No. 38 South Carolina at 8-over (288). Ole Miss grinded out pars throughout the day, making 58 of them to rank third among the 14-team field. No. 4 Vanderbilt leads the tournament as the only school to finish the day under par (-4). No. 9 Auburn and No. 50 Tennessee shot level par behind the Commodores. Only 10 golfers in the 70-player field posted under-par opening rounds. Luis Gagne of LSU holds the clubhouse lead following a 4-under 66.
In his first SEC Championship, Wegener didn't seem to be nervous as he stepped up and birdied the first hole. A pair of bogeys on No. 7 and No. 9 forced him to make the turn at 1-over, but he got back to even with a birdie on the par-4 10th. The Ridgeland, Mississippi, native countered a bogey at the 11th with a birdie on difficult No. 14. Closing out his round on No. 18, his second shot sailed over the green. However, the freshman remained calm and hit a superb chip shot within seven feet before sinking the par putt to remain at even. Playing the 12 par 4s at 1-under, Wegener ranked second in the field in par-4 scoring.
While the newest member of the Rebels led the way, senior Kerry Sweeney followed closely behind with a 2-over 72. He got off to a shaky start at 3-over through six holes, but the veteran battled back by playing the last 12 at 1-under par. His two birdies came on the only two par 5s on the par-70 course (No. 7 and No. 15). Sweeney was only one of 12 players in the field to birdie both par 5s in the opening round.
Juniors Beau Briggs and Braden Thornberry each posted 73 (+3) to chip in to the team score. Briggs bogeyed the first two holes before righting the ship. On the par-3 sixth, he stuck his tee shot to three feet for an easy birdie and finished the day 1-under on the par 3s (second in the field). On the back nine, Briggs grinded out eight pars before a final bogey on 18. Thornberry, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, had an uncharacteristic round above his 69.63 stroke average.
Ole Miss will begin round two bright and early tomorrow, teeing off in the first groups off No. 1. Josh Seiple, who tied a team high with three birdies in round one, will be the first Rebel on the course at 6:30 a.m. CT.
Malloy's Minute
"We certainly didn't get off to the start that we would've liked, but I was very proud of the way that we hung in throughout the day and gave ourselves a chance to put a good round together, said head coach Chris Malloy. "We are in a good position to go out and post a solid round tomorrow and move up the leaderboard going into the final day of stroke play."
Rebel Results
T11. Cecil Wegener 70 (E)
T28. Kerry Sweeney 72 (+2)
T36. Beau Briggs 73 (+3)
T36. Braden Thornberry 73 (+3)
T61. Josh Seiple 76 (+6)
Team Standings (GolfStat rankings top 50)
1. #4 Vanderbilt 276 (-4)
T2. #9 Auburn 280 (E)
T2. #50 Tennessee 280 (E)
4. #11 LSU 281 (+1)
5. #6 Alabama 283 (+3)
6. #19 Kentucky 286 (+6)
7. #39 Missouri 287 (+7)
T8. #34 Ole Miss 288 (+8)
T8. #38 South Carolina 288 (+8)
10. #16 Arkansas 289 (+9)
11. Georgia 291 (+11)
T12. #7 Florida 293 (+13)
T12. Mississippi State 293 (+13)
14. #2 Texas A&M 296 (+16)
Remaining Tournament Schedule
Thursday, April 26 (18 holes)
Round 2 - Stroke Play (6:30 a.m.-7:10 a.m. CT tee times)
Friday, April 27 (18 holes)
Round 3 - Stroke Play (Tee Times)
Saturday, April 28 (18 holes)
Quarterfinals - Match Play (Tee Times)
Semifinals - Match Play (Tee Times)
Sunday, April 29 (18 holes)
Finals - Match Play (Tee Times)
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Players Mentioned
