The No. 18 Tennessee women’s golf team is set to compete in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship this week in Belleair, Florida, according to an April 15 announcement. The tournament’s stroke play will take place from Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19 at Pelican Golf Club. The top eight teams after stroke play will advance to match play beginning Monday, April 20.
This event marks the third consecutive year that Pelican Golf Club has hosted the championship. The course is a par-72 layout measuring approximately 6,287 yards and was redesigned in 2018 by Beau Welling as a tribute to Augusta National.
Tennessee enters the postseason following a strong season with three team victories—matching a program record—and three different individual medalists: Kyra Van Kan, Madison Messimer, and Sophie Christopher. In their most recent outing at the Huntington Bank Collegiate in Dallas, the Lady Vols finished fourth at eleven-under-par with Christopher tying for sixth individually.
Last year at the SEC Championship, Tennessee reached the quarterfinal match but fell to South Carolina by a score of 3-2. Since match play was added to the women’s championship format in 2018, these are only two occasions where Tennessee has qualified for that stage. While Tennessee has never won an SEC title in women’s golf, it has finished as runner-up twice—in its inaugural season of 1993 and again in 1999.
The field for this year’s SEC Championship features strong competition with five of the nation’s top ten ranked teams and ten of the top twenty-five according to Clippd rankings. Tennessee’s lineup includes standout performances from freshmen Messimer and Kaopan Thapasit; sophomore medalists Van Kan and Christopher; senior Manassanan Chotikabhukkana; and substitute Sofie Engesaeth.
Looking ahead, Tennessee aims to build on its successful season as it seeks advancement through both stroke play and match play rounds against some of collegiate golf’s best programs.
