SEC Match Play: Walker Cup teammates finish on top as stroke play ends

September 26, 2023 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Nick Dunlap (Alabama Athletics Photo)

Nick Dunlap is the medalist, while, in the team competition, Auburn will face Vanderbilt in the championship match.

Since the 2023 Walker Cup is over, Nick Dunlap of Alabama and Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt can return to competing on the golf course.

After Sargent led the first two rounds, Dunlap used an 8-under 63 to vault into first place to win the medalist honors in the SEC Match Play at the Country Club of Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala., by one shot over Sargent.

Dunlap finishes the stroke play at 15-under with rounds of 70-65-63, while Sargent finishes at 14-under with rounds of 64-65-70.

Dunlap birdied No. 18 to win dramatically.

The victory is Dunlap's second collegiate win of his career and first of the season. He set personal-best marks this week for an 18-hole score with his round of 8-under 63 and 54-hole total score vs. par at 15-under.

Dunlap becomes the fifth Alabama golfer to card a round sub-200 score for a tournament and the first to do so since Robby Shelton achieved the feat in the 2015 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.

Dunlap's total of 198 is tied for the second-lowest 54-hole tournament total in Alabama school history, second only to Bobby Wyatt's school record of 192 in the 2014 SEC Championship.

Brendan Valdes of Auburn finished in solo third place at 12-under, and JM Butler and Phichaksn Maichon of Texas A&M finished T4 at 11-under.

In the team competition, Auburn won by 13 shots at 41-under.

Vanderbilt finished in second place at 28-under to make the championship match against Auburn, and Arkansas finished in third place at 25-under.

Ole Miss finished in fourth place at 24-under, and Tennessee finished in fifth place at 23 under.

Results: SEC Fall Preview

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Nick Dunlap	Huntsville, AL	700	70-65-63=198
2	Gordon Sargent	Mountain Brook, AL	500	64-65-70=199
3	Brendan Valdes	Orlando, FL	400	69-63-69=201
T4	John Marshall Butler	Louisville, KY	400	66-67-69=202
T4	Phichaksn Maichon	Beverly Hills, CA	400	65-68-69=202

View full results for SEC Fall Preview

About the SEC Fall Preview

SEC Match Play: Walker Cup teammates finish on top as stroke play ends

Men's college match play tournament, with each team match consisting of five individual matches. A player match win is worth 1 point, and a tie is worth 1/2, and the winning team is the one with the most points in the five player matches. 54 holes of...