Gamecocks Begin SEC Championship at Sea Island Wednesday

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – South Carolina is set to open play at the 2026 SEC Men’s Golf Championship on Wednesday morning. For the 25^th year, Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course plays host to the conference tournament.

The 13^th seeded Gamecocks will be one of 14 teams competing this week ranked inside the top-50 of the latest Clippd Top-25 Poll. Eleven of the teams in the field are ranked in the top-25 with No. 1 Auburn, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Arkansas headlining that group.

For the eighth consecutive year, match play will determine the team champion. Teams will play 54-holes of stroke play where an individual SEC Champion will be crowned and the top-eight teams will advance to the match pay quarterfinals on Saturday. Semifinal matches will also take place on Saturday with the championship match set for 8 a.m. (ET) Sunday live on SEC Network.

The Gamecocks have made match play three times (2017, 2019, 2021) since the inception of the new format. Carolina finished ninth last season at Sea Island with a 54-hole total of 836 (-4), two shots shy of making the top-eight cut for match play.

Redshirt senior All-American Frankie Harris leads the five-man Gamecock lineup this week. Harris, ranked No. 22 in Clippd, has won three times this season and became the program’s all-time wins leader with his sixth career victory at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate back in March. Three Gamecocks have claimed medalist or co-medalist honors at the SEC Championship: Eric Ecker in 1998, George Bryan IV in 2010 (tie) and Matt NeSmith in 2015. NeSmith set the program 54-hole scoring record with his win at Sea Island shooting 196 (65-64-67).

Harris is joined in the lineup this week by senior Zach Adams, freshman Talan Harrison, sophomore Marek Fleming and junior Brock Blais. Freshman August Petersson will serve as the team’s substitute sixth player and can be subbed in prior to the start of any stroke play round or match. Adams will be making his fourth career SEC Championship start this week while Harris makes his third.

Since 1927, Sea Island Golf Club has enjoyed a legacy as one of America’s premier golf clubs. Redesigned in 1999 by Tom Fazio, the links style Seaside features beautifully manicured fairways and greens, sweeping dunes mixed with native grasses, wildflowers and bunkers. The coastal winds create a different golf experience daily.

Teams will play in foursomes this week for the first time ever at the SEC Championship. The Gamecocks will be paired with Mississippi State, Kentucky and Missouri the opening 18 holes on Wednesday. Blais will be the first Carolina player off at 9:15 a.m. (ET) on hole 10. Clippd will have live scoring at the SEC Championship available all week here.

2026 SEC Championship Gamecock Lineup  
1. Frankie Harris
2. Zach Adams
3. Talan Harrison
4. Marek Fleming
5. Brock Blais
6. August Petersson*

* – serving as team’s substitute player this week

2026 SEC Championship Field
1.  No. 1 Auburn
2. No. 3 Texas
3. No. 4 Florida
4. No. 5 Arkansas
5. No. 8 LSU
6. No. 11 Vanderbilt
7. No. 12 Ole Miss
8. No. 14 Tennessee
9. No. 16 Oklahoma
10. No. 17 Alabama
11. No. 25 Georgia
12. No. 30 Texas A&M
13. No. 39 South Carolina
14. No. 41 Mississippi State
15. No. 54 Kentucky
16. No. 89 Missouri

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