Razorbacks defeat Ole Miss in SEC match play
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The match between No. 27 Arkansas and No. 24 Mississippi at the third annual Southeastern Conference Match Play, hosted by Jerry Pate, was tied at 2-2 through four matches, and the fifth and deciding match was tied after 18 holes. It was Razorback Jacob Skov Olesen who pulled out the win in an extra hole to lift Arkansas to a 3-2 victory over the Rebels.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The match between No. 27 Arkansas and No. 24 Mississippi at the third annual Southeastern Conference Match Play, hosted by Jerry Pate, was tied at 2-2 through four matches, and the fifth and deciding match was tied after 18 holes. It was Razorback Jacob Skov Olesen who pulled out the win in an extra hole to lift Arkansas to a 3-2 victory over the Rebels.
In the deciding match, Olesen won the first four holes but Mississippi’s Tom Fischer battled back to square the match with two holes to play. Olesen won the 17th hole to lead 1-up. However, Fischer drained a 30-foot putt on the 18th to win the hole and force extra holes. The match continued to hole No. 1 with Olesen securing the clinching point with a par.
Arkansas, the No. 3 seed after stroke play, finished third in the match play with the win over No. 4 seed Mississippi. In the three years of the SEC Match Play, Arkansas is a perfect 6-0 in this event, going 4-0 to win in a different format in 2021 and winning each of its single matches played in 2022 and 2023.
Other wins on Wednesday came from Manuel Lozada and John Driscoll III. Lozada is now 6-1 all-time when competing in match play — all at this fall SEC event — while Olesen improves to 11-4-2 for his career in match play.
Driscoll, playing in the No. 3 spot, gave Arkansas its first point with a convincing 5 and 4 win over Tim Tillmanns. Driscoll won holes 3, 5, 8, 11 and 12 to take a 5-up lead. Tillmanns won the 13th before Driscoll closed out the match by winning the 14th hole.
Lozada, playing in the No. 2 spot, lost his first hole to Cameron Tankersley but won holes 6, 7 and 8. Tankersley squared the match by winning the 10th and 12th holes. However, Lozada won holes 15 and 16 and clinched the second point as the duo tied the 17th with a par.
Arkansas will quickly turn its attention to hosting the third annual Blessings Collegiate Invitational, played Monday through Wednesday, at the Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville. The event is free to the public and will be televised on GOLF Channel each afternoon.
