Gamecocks Earn No. 1 Seed, Rydqvist Finishes 2nd at SEC Championship – University of South Carolina Athletics

BELLEAIR, Fla. – No. 2 South Carolina earned the No. 1 seed for match play at the SEC Championship on Sunday, finishing as the only team in the field under par after 54 holes of stroke play at Pelican Golf Club. The Gamecocks carded a final round 280 (E) to finish with a 54-hole total of 837 (-3), three shots clear of No. 10 Auburn.

In six seasons of the new match play format at the SEC Championship, Carolina has advanced each season. The Gamecocks and Auburn are the only two teams in the SEC to make match play every year.

Junior All-American Louise Rydqvist was lights out with a final round 65 (-5) en route to runner-up medalist honors. She fired a new career-low score of 203, which tied All-American Pauline Roussin-Bouchard for the fourth-lowest 54-hole mark in program history. Rydqvist, who made the cut at Pelican back in November at the LPGA Tour’s ANNIKA at Gainbridge tournament (she was playing on sponsor exemption from her win at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate), was bogey free on the back nine with four birdies. She paced the Gamecocks with 12 birdies this week, which T-2^nd in the 70-player field.

It was a big day for Rydqvist off the course as well as she was named SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. A double major in finance and marketing, she has a perfect 4.0 GPA. She joins Lois Kaye Go (2019, 2020) and Justine Dreher (2015) as the only players in program history to win the award.

Junior All-American Hannah Darling shot 71 (+1) to finish T-6^th at 2-under for the tournament. She putted from off the green short right and made eagle at the par-5 14^th hole to get to red figures on the day. Her birdie attempt on 18 sat on the edge of the cup as she just missed her 12^th career top-five finish.

Freshman Vai Heck was also solid today posting a 1-over 71. She T-16^th in her SEC Championship debut at 3-over for the tournament. Sophomore Mia Sandtorv Lussand shot 73 (+3) and was the final counting score for the Gamecocks today. She too finished T-16^th, her second straight top-20 finish at the SEC Championship. Freshman Maylis Lamoure shot 75 (+5). She played solid but caught a tough break with a water penalty at the difficult par-4 18^th hole.

Carolina will face No. 4 LSU, the eight seed, in the SEC Quarterfinals Monday Morning. Tee times will again start at 8 a.m. (ET) with live scoring available via Golfstat. Darling will be the first player off for the Garnet & Black facing off with Carla Tejedo Mulet.

The Gamecocks have had a piar of title match…