[su_spacer size=”40″] The 2015 SECs will be the third straight at Greystone; however, this year’s tournament will be contested on the club’s Legacy Course for the first time. It was played on Greystone’s Founders Course in both 2013 and 2014.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Most recently, Georgia captured an eight-stroke victory at Seton Hall’s Pirate Invitational at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, N.J., on April 3. Perhaps more impressive than the Bulldogs’ win was the fact that four members of the UGA lineup posted top-10 individual efforts. Manuela Carbajo Ré finished third, Harang Lee placed fourth, Rocio Sanchez Lobato tied for eighth and Sylvie Brick tied for 10th.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Prior to that, the Bulldogs were runner-up in their own Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on March 29. This year’s LMCC featured a combination of stroke play qualifying and match play, a format similar to the one that will be utilized for the 2015 NCAA Championships.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The stacked field included teams that have won 13 of the past 15 NCAA Championships.
[su_spacer size=”40″] After tying for seventh in stroke play, the Bulldogs defeated No. 3 South Carolina and No. 9 Northwestern to reach the championship match against No. 1 Southern Cal. Georgia went stroke-for-stroke all day with the Women of Troy, litterally. The match ended at 2.5-2.5; however, USC was awarded the title because the margins of victory in its two matches won was greater than those of the Bulldogs’ “Ws.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] “In our sport its hard to peak and prepare for peaking but right now, we are playing as well as we have,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “Counting both matches playing on that Saturday at the Liz Murphey, we have played six really good rounds of golf together. I’d be more surprised if we don’t go ahead and have seven, eight and nine good rounds by Sunday.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia will stick with the lineup that has brought success of late of senior Rocio Sanchez Lobato, juniors Sylvie Brick and Manuela Carbajo Ré and sophomores Harang Lee and Sammi Lee.
[su_spacer size=”40″] That represents four-fifths of the lineup Georgia brought to the SECs a year ago.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “It does give us reason to be optimistic, but I’m more worried about the group just playing well,” Brewer said. “That’s more important for our confidence because this group has figured it out as the five. As coaches, we try and stay out of their way right now, let them run and continue that momentum and continue posting very good scores.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Sammi Lee was Georgia’s top individual finisher at last year’s SECs.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’ve been practicing hard and we’re all still feeling great,” Lee said. “When you play well, it gives you a boost of confidence. We’ll stick to what we’ve been doing and see what happens. It’s going to be tough this week and it’s going to take good golf to win it, but we’re excited and we’re ready for it.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Harang Lee is the only golfer to represent the Bulldogs in all 10 events to date this season.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We are ready to go out and do as well as we can,” she said. “We’ve been doing better the last few tournaments and it would be really nice to keep that going. Winning is a great feeling and it’s built so much positive energy. I think we need to go out this week and enjoy ourselves, do our best, try to get some low rounds and see what happens.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] This year’s SECs will be Brick’s first post-season appearance; however, she’s coming off a career-best 10th-place finish at Seton Hall.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “We’ve been on a roll lately and we know it’s important to keep building off the positive momentum we’ve been creating,” Brick said. “We all know if we give our best and believe in our preparation that we should be in contention come Sunday. We know we belong. We are just as talented and work just as hard and put our golf shoes on like every other team. When you win, it’s important to take advantage of it. It’s fun to win. Now that we’ve gotten a little taste of it, we don’t want to let it go.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] As usual, the SEC is likely the deepest conference in the nation in women’s golf.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The league features no less than four top-10 and eight top-20 teams in this week’s edition of the Golfstat rankings.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Four league schools also are in the top-10 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, while eight are among the top-21 teams in Golfweek’s ledger.
[su_spacer size=”40″] UGA’s SEC Tourney history
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia has captured a league-leading 19 SEC Women’s Golf Championships all-time. Georgia has won 11 team and eight individual titles (years listed at the bottom of Page 1).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Florida ranks second with 16 conference championships, eight team and eight individual titles, while Auburn ranks third with 15 crowns, nine team and six individual.
[su_spacer size=”40″] UGA, UF and AU own 50 of the combined 68 SEC titles all-time in women’s golf, while the other 11 league schools have captured the other 18 (six team and 12 individual).