Preview: #14 Vols Tee Off Postseason at SEC Championship

Wednesday, April 22

St. Simons Island, Ga.

University of Tennessee

SEC Championships - Round 1

Photo by: Jamie Holt/University of Virginia Athletics

Preview: #14 Vols Tee Off Postseason at SEC Championship

April 21, 2026 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring

The No. 14 Tennessee men's golf team begins postseason play this week as the SEC Championship gets underway on Wednesday at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

The tournament will begin with three rounds of stroke play, beginning on Wednesday, April 22, and concluding on Friday, April 24. At the conclusion of stroke play, the top eight lowest scoring teams will advance to the match play quarterfinals. Match play quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Saturday, April 25, ahead of the match play championship on Sunday, April 26.

Sea Island Golf Course will play host to the tournament, as it has been since 2001. The seaside course features sweeping dunes mixed with native grasses, wildflowers, and bunkers. The par-70, 7,005-yard Tom Fazio re-designed course is home to the PGA Tour's annual RSM Classic.

The Vols have had a strong spring to date, featuring a top five finish in all five team events. Tennessee earned a marquee victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational in March, tying for the team title over a field that featured eight top 15 opponents. The Vols have also had two individual medalists this spring as Lance Simpson tied for first at the Pauma Valley Invitational and Bruce Murphy won the Coach Sykes Individual in February.

The SEC Championship field is as strong as ever after another strong season for the conference. Auburn has been the consensus number one team in the country since March 11, while the conference features four other squads currently ranked in the top ten. In total, 11 teams ranked in the top 25 will compete at Sea Island Golf Club this week.

The Volunteers will be seeking their fourth SEC Championship title, and first since 2007, this week on St. Simons Island. The team will be looking for a bounce back performance after they placed 14^th in stroke play in 2025, failing to make the match play stage of the tournament for the first time since 2018. Jackson Herrington tied for 32^nd place to lead the Vols in 2025.

Tennessee's best performance at the SEC Championship in recent years came in 2023, when they tied for third place, the only time the team has advanced to the match play semifinals since the format was introduced in 2017. That same year, VFL Caleb Surratt became the fifth and most recent Vol golfer to earn individual medalist honors at the SEC Championship.

Tennessee Lineup
Lance Simpson:
Simpson is looking to add to an illustrious career in his final postseason with the Vols. He earned his first career win earlier this spring at the Pauma Valley Invitational. Simpson has earned five top-ten finishes in the 2025-26 season, including a 14-under-par performance at the Puerto Rico Classic.

Jackson Herrington:
Herrington is riding high ahead of postseason golf. The Vol sophomore competed in the 2026 Masters tournament earlier this month, tying for the low amateur score through 36 holes at 8-over-par. For Tennessee, Herrington has earned two top-ten finishes this season.

Josh Hill:
Hill has had a sneakily strong spring season for the Vols, earning a top-25 finish in four of five events. The senior will make his third appearance in the SEC Championship this week.

Bruce Murphy:
Murphy carries momentum into the SEC Championship, fresh off a third-place finish at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, where he shot 12-under-par. Additionally, the redshirt junior was the individual medalist at the Coach Sykes Individual earlier this spring.

Chase Kyes:
Kyes has had a resurgent spring as a freshman for the Vols. The Birmingham, Alabama, native has earned two top-ten finishes and posted 14 rounds of par or better in the 2025-26 season.

Luke Smith (sub):
Smith has been a consistent part of the Tennessee lineup as a freshman this spring, earning four top-25 finishes since the start of the calendar year. The Toronto native will begin the SEC Championship as a substitute option for the Vols.

Participants
Alabama (17)
Arkansas (5)
Auburn (1)
Florida (4)
Georgia (25)
Kentucky (54)
LSU (8)
Mississippi State (40)
Missouri (89)
Oklahoma (16)
Ole Miss (12)
South Carolina (38)
Tennessee (14)
Texas (3)
Texas A&M (30)
Vanderbilt (11)

Rankings via Clippd