Matthews wins, but Razorbacks fall in match play at SEC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas redshirt freshman Brooke Matthews played to a 3-up win but is wasn’t enough to lift the Razorbacks as they fell 3-1-1 to Auburn in the first round of match play at the SEC Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday.

Matthews has won four consecutive matches picking up three match wins and co-medalist honors at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia, last week.

In Saturday’s match, Matthews went into the 12th hole of the match all square. She won that hole and picked up two more holes as the match closed.

SEC Individual champion Maria Fassi played extra golf needing some heroics on the 18th hole to continue play. An errant tee shot had Fassi in the woods.

She battled out of the trees leaving herself a long putt nearly the width of the green to stay in the game. Her roll was on the mark just sliding by the top of the hole and it looked like she would drop the match.

Her Tiger opponent, however, missed her putt allowing the scoring to remain all square. The duo moved on to extra holes, but the game was suspended as Auburn won in the other positions.

The loss eliminates Arkansas from the SEC Tournament as the Razorbacks finish T5 overall.

Razorback Lineup
Auburn def. Arkansas, 3-1-1
Maria Fassi (Ark) vs. Kaleigh Telfer (AU), AS through 19
Elena Hualde (AU) def. Kaylee Benton (Ark), 1-up
Brooke Matthews (Ark) def. Brooke Sansom (AU), 3-up
Julie McCarthy (AU) def. Ximena Gonzalez (Ark), 3-up
Mychael O’Berry (AU) def. Dylan Kim (Ark), 3-up

Up Next
The NCAA Selection Show airs Wednesday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. on the Golf Channel.

Each regional features 18 teams and six individuals with the low six teams and low three individuals not on an advancing team moving on to the NCA Championship in Fayetteville.

Regionals will be conducted May 6-8. Possible regional sites include:

• Saugahatchee Country Club | Opelika, Alabama | Auburn University, host
• Tumble Creek Golf Club | Cle Elum, Washington | University of Washington, host
• Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club | Norman, Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma, host
• Forest Akers West Golf Course | East Lansing, Michigan | Michigan State University, host