The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
SEC Championship
Wegener Grabs Lead at SEC Championship
4/26/2018 | Men's Golf
TEAM LEADERBOARD | INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD | ROUND 3 PAIRINGS | PHOTO GALLERY
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - After pacing the No. 34 Ole Miss men's golf team in round one of the SEC Championship, freshman Cecil Wegener continued his strong play to become the tournament's overall leader heading into the final round. Posting a career-low 65 (-5) on the par-70 Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club, Wegener moved to 5-under through 36 holes to hold a one-shot lead over four other golfers.
Wegener was not the only Rebel to go low Thursday morning. Redshirt-junior Josh Seiple fired a career-low 65 (-5) of his own with the help of 13 pars and five birdies. The pair of 65s led Ole Miss to a 277 (-3) second round total, the second-lowest round of the day and tied the Rebels' best SEC Championship round in at least the past 20 years. Ole Miss moved up the leaderboard from eighth place into fourth place with 18 holes of stroke play remaining. The top eight teams following tomorrow's round will move on to match play to determine the SEC champion. Ole Miss sits six shots ahead of the match play cutline going into the final round. No. 11 LSU (281-276--557) leads the tournament at 3-under par, while No. 4 Vanderbilt (276-283--559) and No. 6 Alabama (283-280--563) round out the top three.
The individual SEC champion will be decided after 54 holes of stroke play, which will be wrapped up tomorrow. Wegener is in sole possession of the lead, one of only 11 golfers under par after two rounds of play. Following an even-par 70 in round one, the freshman began his day with three straight pars before recording a birdie on the par-4 fourth hole. He added seven consecutive pars until his putter caught fire on the back nine. It started with a 12-footer on the 223-yard par-3 12th. After seeing one birdie putt fall, Wegener produced three more birdies on Nos. 13-15, running his birdie streak to four straight, that earned him a share of the lead. Another birdie on the par-3 17th pushed Wegener to 6-under. A bogey at No. 18, his only miscue of the day, dropped him back to 5-under but kept him out in front of the pack.
The round of 65 bested Wegener's previous low round of 67, which he has shot three times this season. Wegener leads the tournament in large part to his consistent play. He has made a tournament-high nine birdies through two rounds, while making only four bogeys. Wegener also paces the field in par-4 scoring, playing the holes at 3-under par.
Seiple's 5-under 65 was one of the best rounds of the tournament as well as an 11-stroke improvement from his opening round. The Castle Rock, Colorado, native put together a rare bogey-free round with five birdies sprinkled throughout his day. He birdied No. 2 and No. 8 to make the turn at 2-under. Seiple moved to 3-under for the day with another birdie on No. 11 before taking advantage of the par-5 15th. Reaching the green in two, he flopped a beautiful bunker shot that set up the birdie four. Three holes later, on No. 18, Seiple once again faced a shot from the left greenside bunker. Once again, he used his craftiness in the sand to pull off an incredible shot. Seiple's blast from the bunker found the bottom of the cup and completed the impressive bounce-back round. The career-low round pushed Seiple from a tie for 61st all the way up to a tie for 13th at 1-over for the tournament.
Braden Thornberry (73-72--145) got off to a great start by draining a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 1. With another birdie at No. 8 to go along with seven pars, the No. 1 amateur in the world went out in 33 (-2). He joined Seiple and Wegener in posting a bogey-free front nine. However, he suffered a double bogey to begin the back nine that dropped him to level par for the day. Thornberry would add his third birdie of the day at No. 16, but three bogeys coming in forced the reigning national champion to settle for a 2-over 72.
Beau Briggs added a 75 (+5), fighting past three shots that found the hazard. His best stretch came from Nos. 6-13, when the junior went 1-under during the eight holes with seven pars and a birdie on No. 11. He was one of three Rebels to birdie the par-4 425-yard 11th hole.
The Rebels will begin the final round of stroke play tomorrow morning at 7:20 a.m. CT. Ole Miss will look to remain in the top eight, which would lock up a spot in Saturday's match play quarterfinals.
Malloy's Minute
"It was certainly a great day for our guys," said head coach Chris Malloy. "We got off to a great start and hung in there the rest of the day. We have put ourselves in a good situation to advance to the match play portion of this tournament. We need to keep our foot on the gas tomorrow and play like we did today."
Rebel Results
1. Cecil Wegener 70-65--135 (-5)
T13. Josh Seiple 76-65--141 (+1)
T38. Braden Thornberry 73-72--145 (+5)
T55. Beau Briggs 73-75--148 (+8)
T61. Kerry Sweeney 72-78--150 (+10)
Team Standings (GolfStat rankings top 50)
1. #11 LSU 281-276--557 (-3)
2. #4 Vanderbilt 276-283--559 (-1)
3. #6 Alabama 283-280--563 (+3)
4. #34 Ole Miss 288-277--565 (+5)
5. #9 Auburn 280-286--566 (+6)
6. #19 Kentucky 286-283--569 (+9)
7. #50 Tennessee 280-290--570 +10)
8. #7 Florida 293-278--571 (+11)
T9. #2 Texas A&M 296-277--573 (+13)
T9. Georgia 291-282--573 (+13)
11. #16 Arkansas 289-285--574 (+14)
12. #38 South Carolina 288-287--575 (+15)
13. Mississippi State 293-284--577 (+17)
14. #39 Missouri 287-296--583 (+23)
Remaining Tournament Schedule
Friday, April 27 (18 holes)
Round 3 - Stroke Play (7:20 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. CT 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)
Follow The Rebels
For all Ole Miss Men's Golf news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMGolf, on Instagram at OleMissMGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Golf.
Players Mentioned
