Gamecocks Advance to Match Play in Playoff at SEC Championship

ST SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – South Carolina advanced to match play at the SEC Championship in dramatic fashion late on Friday afternoon. Junior Brock Blais made birdie on hole 14 and freshman Talan Harrison walked in a 15-footer for birdie on hole 16 as the Gamecocks advanced in a three-for-one playoff for the final spot in match play.

Five players from Carolina, No. 5 Arkansas and No. 25 Georgia went out to holes 14 thru 18. All five scores counted as the Gamecocks went 1-under and the Bulldogs and Razorbacks each went 1-over.

It’s Carolina’s fourth all-time match play appearance (first since 2021) since the new format was adopted in 2017. The Gamecocks will face top-ranked Auburn in the quarterfinals tomorrow seeking the program’s first semifinal berth.

It was a historic week for Carolina as the team logged a new team 54-hole program scoring record at 12-under (828) in 24 all-time SEC Championship appearances at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course. The Gamecocks shot 272 (-8) in the opening round on Monday, which is also a program 18-hole scoring record at Sea Island. The previous low team 54-hole score (830) and low 18-hole score (275) both came in 2015 when three-time All-American Matt NeSmith won the individual SEC Championship.

Redshirt senior All-American Frankie Harris led Carolina this week with a T-7^th finish in his third career SEC Championship start. The Boca Raton, Fla. native shot 202 (-8) with rounds of 66-66-70. He T-3^rd in the field this week in par-4 scoring average (3.83, -6) and led the Gamecocks with 14 birdies. Harris now has 15 career top-10 finishes in 32 events played.

Harrison also had a great week in his SEC Championship debut. The Kannapolis, N.C. native shot 206 (-4) to finish T-24^th with rounds of 67-69-70. Blais also got to red figures as he finished T-38^th with a 54-hole total of 209 (-1), shooting scores of 68-72-69. Sophomore Marek Fleming finished T-45^th at 1-over (211) firing scores of 71-69-71. Senior Zach Adams finished T-72^nd at 10-over (220) with scores of 71-73-76 in his fourth and final career SEC Championship start.

South Carolina and Auburn will begin their quarterfinal match at 7:30 a.m. (ET) tomorrow morning on hole one. Live scoring will be available here via Clippd. Semifinal matches will begin shortly after the quarterfinal matches conclude with SEC Network+ providing live coverage of the semis.

2026 SEC Championship Match Play Quarterfinals
South Carolina vs. No. 1 Auburn
1. Brock Blais (SC) vs. Cayden Pope (AUB) – 7:30 a.m.
2. Talan Harrison (SC) vs. Josiah Gilbert (AUB) – 7:40 a.m.
3. Marek Fleming (SC) vs. Logan Reilly (AUB) – 7:50 a.m.
4. Zach Adams (SC) vs. Jackson Koivun (AUB) – 8 a.m.
5. Frankie Harris (SC) vs. Jake Albert (AUB) – 8:10 a.m.

2026 SEC Championship Final Storke Play Gamecock Leaderboard
T7. Frankie Harris – 202 (-8)
T24. Talan Harrison –  206 (-4)
T38. Brock Blais – 209 (-1)
T45. Marek Fleming – 211 (+1)
T72. Zach Adams – 220 (+10)

2026 SEC Championship Final Stroke Play Leaderboard
1.  No. 1 Auburn – 801 (-39)
2. No. 4 Florida – 807 (-33)
3. No. 3 Texas – 810 (-30)
4. No. 12 Ole Miss – 820 (-20)
5. No. 30 Texas A&M – 824 (-16)
6. No. 41 Mississippi State – 826 (-14)
7. No. 16 Oklahoma – 827 (-13)
T8. No. 39 South Carolina – 828 (-12)  
T8. No. 5 Arkansas – 828 (-12)
T8. No. 25 Georgia – 828 (-12)
11. No. 17 Alabama – 834 (-6)
12. No. 8 LSU – 835 (-5)
13. No. 14 Tennessee – 836 (-4)
14. No. 11 Vanderbilt – 843 (+3)
15. No. 89 Missouri – 849 (+9)
16. No. 54 Kentucky – 868 (+28)

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