Georgia golf saw Day 2 of the 2022 Men’s SEC Championship bring some struggles, but senior leader Trent Phillips stayed the course as he sits in second place in the individual SEC race.
He is also moving his way up the PGA Tour University rankings and is one of the five finalists for the 2022 Byron Nelson Award.
The Dawgs fell to sixth in the standings after posting a 1-over 281 to move to 3-under 557 with one round to play in the stroke event.
Georgia golf fell on Day 2, but Trent Phillips hung tough to contend in the individual race.
Vanderbilt surged as the Commodores held onto the lead for the second straight day with a 13-under 547 score. Florida shot up the leaderboard and sits second with a 9-under 551 total score.
Georgia will have to play well on Friday to secure one of the top eight spots so the Dawgs can advance into the matchplay portion of the SEC Tournament.
The Dawgs are two shots ahead of eighth place and three ahead of ninth. Georgia needs a solid round, but depending on the weather — Friday could go either way.
Phillips paced the Dawgs once again and is in a great spot to become the latest SEC Medalist for the Dawgs. The last Georgia golfer to do that was Lee McCoy in 2016.
Noteworthy couple of days for Trent Phillips: He is up to the coveted No. 5 spot in the @PGATOURU ranking and he has been chosen as 1 of the 5 finalists for the @ByronNelsonAwrd. And, oh yeah, on Friday he will attempt to become the Bulldogs' latest @SEC medalist. #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/J9x3izH29i
— Georgia Golf (@UGAGolf) April 21, 2022
He shot a 1-under 69 to move to 4-under 136 in the tournament. Phillips has plenty of company in second place with six other golfers. They are all chasing down Texas A&M golfer Phichaksn Maichon who holds a one-shot lead.
Freshman Buck Brumlow finished even par on Day 2, the second-best score from the Bulldogs on the day. Nicolas Cassidy and Maxwell Ford each shot 1-over 71, and Ben van Wyk shot 4-over 74.
Thankfully that 74 doesn’t count to the Dawgs’ total as the top four scores get taken from each round.
The Dawgs couldn’t get much momentum going on Thursday, which hurt them throughout the round. There is one round left, and let’s hope the best version of the Dawgs shows up to advance into match play.
Round 2 of the @SEC Championship is under way. #GoDawgs
— Georgia Golf (@UGAGolf) April 21, 2022
Tournament central: https://t.co/IpWsV1csMt pic.twitter.com/1tiUQqo5U9
Day 3 is usually the toughest because anything could happen team-wise.
Phillips is so close to that SEC Medalist title, but he must remain calm and focused. The senior could come out on top if he can stay the course and play his game.
Experience helps in the SEC Championship, but there have been years where someone comes out of the blue to win it all.
Phillips knows this course, so it’s his time to take advantage of that knowledge and hunker down because he has what it takes to win the SEC Medialst title.
He has played so well this season, and that sees him right in the mix of finishing in the PGA Tour University’s top-5 ranking. Phillips is currently No.5 and can continue to earn points throughout the SEC and NCAA events.
In June, the top-5 players will receive multiple exemptions into the Korn Ferry Tour and an international PGA Tour circuit for the 2022-2023 season. This initiative is a great way to help college golfers work into becoming a professional.
Phillips could become the second Bulldog to finish that high as Davis Thompson finished No.2 last year. Winning the SEC Medalist title would help the senior out tremendously.
Friday will be a big round for him, and hopefully, he stays cool and calm because it would be great to see a Dawg on top again.
Georgia golf takes on Auburn and Texas A&M on Friday for Day 3 of the SECs stroke portion, with tee times ranging 8:50-9:30 a.m.