No. 4 Gamecocks Advance to SEC Championship Match Friday

BELLEAIR, Fla. – No. 4 South Carolina advanced to the title match at the SEC Championship for the first time since 2019 on Thursday after a pair of wins at Pelican Golf Club. The Gamecocks defeated No. 18 Ole Miss 4.5-0.5 in the semifinals and Tennessee 3-2 in the quarterfinals to advance today.

It came down to the wire against the Rebels in the afternoon match. Freshman Eila Galitsky put the first point on the board in the semifinals for Carolina with a 3&1 victory on hole 17. Galitsky stuffed it tight to make birdie on the par-4 16^th and go 2-up with two to play to take control. Senior All-American Louise Rydqvist followed suit with a 2&1 victory in the group behind her on 17. Rydqvist had a clutch birdie make at the difficult par-3 15^th hole.

Up ahead, graduate Sophia Burnett extended her match with a birdie on 18 to force extra holes. She won on the third playoff hole to clinch the victory for the Gamecocks and propel the team to the title match. Senior All-American Hannah Darling also forced extra holes with a clutch birdie on 18 against SEC Individual Champion Caitlyn Macnab. Her match was stopped and halved with Burnett’s win up ahead. Sophomore Maylis Lamoure led for most of her match and clutched up down the stretch as her opponent got hot. She answered a birdie at the par-4 16^th hole to remain 1-up with two holes to play. Lamoure holed from the fairway for eagle on 13 as she took a commanding 3-up lead in the match.

Carolina faces seventh-seeded Florida in the championship match Friday morning. The Gators defeated No. 2 and sixth-seeded Arkansas 3-2 in the semis early this evening as the sun was setting. Florida got a pair of 1-up wins and a 2&1 victory in another tightly contested semifinal bout.

In the morning session, Rydqvist was dominant in a 6&4 win. Galitsky and Burnett each won 3&2. Both Rydqvist and Galitsky have yet to trail in either of their two matches at the SEC Championship. Galitsky improved to 5-0 in matches this season with her two victories today.

Live coverage of the championship match begins at 10 a.m. (ET) tomorrow on SEC Network. Golfstat will have live scoring again for the title match here. It’ll be the same order as the semifinals with Burnett leading things off from hole one in the opening match.

Tomorrow marks the programs third title match appearance since the league switched to the new format in 2018. The first and only SEC Championship in program history was in 2002. Gamecock great and Hall of Famer Kristy McPherson, who was named an Assistant Vice Captain for the Solheim Cup earlier this week, won the individual title as all five players in the lineup finished in the top-25.

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2025 SEC Championship Semifinal Results  

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