BELLEAIR, Fla. – The No. 18 Tennessee women’s golf team had an unforgettable Monday at Pelican Golf Club, advancing to new heights at the 2026 SEC Championship.
The Lady Vols earned their first ever wins in the SEC Championship match play quarterfinals and semifinals, since the match play format began in 2018, securing a spot in Tuesday’s championship match against No. 8 Auburn.
Tennessee began the day with a quarterfinal match against Oklahoma, dispatching the Sooners with a 4-1 victory to advance to the SEC Championship semifinal.
Awaiting Tennessee in the semifinal round was No. 4 Texas A&M, who earned a narrow 3-2 victory over arch-rival No. 5 Texas earlier in the day. What followed was a dramatic 3-2 playoff win for the Lady Vols, with Sofie Engesaeth serving as the hero of the afternoon.
Engesaeth, a match play veteran from her time as a junior golfer in Europe, marked a dominant 6&4 win in the quarterfinal, clinching Tennessee’s first point in the match. The junior’s path to victory was much different in the semifinal match against Texas A&M’s Sky Sudberry.
With other results around the course clinching two points for each team, all eyes turned to Engesaeth’s match as the decider. After bunker trouble on hole No. 17, the Norwegian international fell one down with one hole to play. A miraculous approach shot on hole No. 18 settled on a sprinkler head at the edge of the green, keeping the ball from falling into the water.
What followed was a perfect ten-foot birdie putt, winning hole No. 18 and knotting up Engesaeth’s individual match, tying the teams at 2.5 points apiece. Engesaeth’s pairing played hole No. 10 to break the tie, which she won as her par outlasted an Aggie bogey and sent the Lady Vols to their first SEC Championship final match in program history with a 1-up victory.
Madison Messimer and Kyra Van Kan were big point-getters for the Lady Vols on Monday, clinching victory in both their quarterfinal and semifinal matches. Van Kan closed out a 2&1 win over Oklahoma’s Gracie Mayo, before clinching the first point in the semifinal match with a 4&3 victory over Texas A&M’s Brynn Kort.
Messimer didn’t officially finish her quarterfinal match, as the Lady Vols clinched team victory prior to its conclusion, but was 2-up with two holes remaining. In her Semifinal match, Messimer earned an impressive 3&1 win over Texas A&M’s Natalie Yen.
The SEC Championship match play final will begin on Tuesday morning, with tee time staggered by ten minutes from hole No.1, beginning at 10 a.m. EST. The entirety of the match will be broadcast on SEC Network.
SEC Championship Final Tee Times – Tennessee vs. Auburn
10:00 a.m. – Manassanan Chotikabhukkana vs. Anna Davis
10:10 a.m. – Kyra Van Kan vs. Carys Worby
10:20 a.m. – Sophie Christopher vs. Katie Cranston
10:30 a.m. – Madison Messimer vs. Molly Brown Davidson
10:40 a.m. – Sofie Engesaeth vs. Charlotte Cantonis
SEC Championship Quarterfinal Results – Tennessee vs. Oklahoma
Reagan Chaney def. Sophie Christopher (1-up)
Manassanan Chotikabhukkana def. Satonkan Thiengsri (2&1)
Sofie Engesaeth def. Audrey Rischer (6&4)
Kyra Van Kan def. Gracie Mayo (2&1)
Madison Messimer def. Savannah Barber (2-up thru 16)
SEC Championship Semifinal Results – Tennessee vs. Texas A&M
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio def. Manassanan Chotikabhukkana (2&1)
Kyra Van Kan def. Brynn Kort (4&3)
Sofie Engesaeth def. Sky Sudberry (1-up, 19 holes)
Vanessa Borovilos def. Sophie Christopher (5&4)
Madison Messimer def. Natalie Yen (3&1)
