Dogs three back heading into final round of SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND - On the strength of Russell Henley's hole in one, the No. 1-ranked Georgia men's golf team reduced the deficit at the Southeastern Conference Championship on Saturday.

At the Frederica Golf Club, the Bulldogs posted a 3-over 291 to move to 5-over 581 for the tournament and maintain their second-place standing. Alabama, which led by five at the beginning of the day, still has the lead at 2-over 578.

"We were down five and now we're down three, so we made some progress," Georgia coach Chris Haack said. "This tournament is going the way we expected it would. We are facing really tough competition, and that's the way it should be for the SEC Championship. We knew it would go down to all 54 holes. Our players, coaches and fans are excited about the final round, and hopefully we can do something special."

Speaking of which, Henley did something special on Frederica's 14th hole on Saturday, recording the first ace of his career. Henley finished at 2-under 70 to go to 1-under 143 and into a tie for fourth. Henley is two shots behind Alabama's Joseph Sykora, with whom he will be paired in the final round.

"I had not been hitting the ball well, but as I got to the back nine, I was hitting it better and putting it better," Henley said. "On 14, I had just changed balls. I scouted the distance and felt the wind was left to right. I hit it right where I aimed, saw it bounce once and then it disappeared. It was luck. I bet if I hit 1,000 balls, I couldn't do it again. But it was something we needed as a team, so I am glad it happened."

Harris English followed Henley with a 1-over 73, while Brian Harman and Adam Mitchell each had a 2-over 74, and Hudson Swafford signed for a 4-over 76. Harman is tied for 12th at 1-over 145, Mitchell is tied for 19th at 2-over 146, and English and Swafford are tied for 35th at 6-over 150.

"The closing holes were the difference for us today," Haack said. "We actually had pulled ahead and then played the last three 6-over and Alabama played them 1-over. To win championships, teams must close strong. Our guys know that and hopefully we can pull that off tomorrow."

The Bulldogs will tee off the final round of the SEC Championship at 8:50 a.m. on Sunday. Live scoring can be found at secsports.com and golfstat.com.