SEC alumni in the field at Viking Classic

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Jul. 13, 2011
By Holly Balogh, PGATOUR.COM staff

With the Viking Classic's Mississippi home in the heart of Southeastern Conference country, there are a host of players in the Viking Classic with ties to SEC schools. Here's a look at each player (year of graduation, if applicable, in parentheses):

Players from the University of Alabama

	Jason Bohn (1995, Finance) Won $1 million in a 1992 Hole-In-One Shootout while attending University of Alabama during his redshirt freshman year and chose to give up his amateur status.
	Steve Lowery 1982 and '83 SEC player of the year; voted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
	Dicky Pride Despite not playing golf as a freshman, and not seeing any action as a sophomore walk-on, went on to become a two-time all-Southeastern Conference choice at Alabama.
	Michael Thompson (2008, Accounting) Won the 2008 Southeastern Conference individual championship. Earned first-team All-American honors in 2008. Finalist for the 2008 Ben Hogan Award (finished second to Rickie Fowler).
	Bud Cauley Cauley just concluded his junior year at Alabama and turned pro after the NCAA Championships. He is the Crimson Tide's first three-time All-American, and competed in his first pro tournament this year at the U.S. Open.
	Matthew Swan Three-time All-SEC selection (2006, 2007 and 2008) and two-time Academic All-SEC selection.

Player from the University of Arkansas

Tag Ridings (1997, Marketing)
Earned All-America and Scholastic All-America honors in 1997 at Arkansas. Named to the All-SEC second team from 1995-97.

Players from the University of Florida

	Chris Couch Two-time All-America selection at University of Florida.
	Chris DiMarco All-American and SEC Player of the Year 1990. All-SEC 1989-90. Winner of the 1989 SEC Championship. Played on team with TOUR member Dudley Hart.
	Billy Horschel (2009, Sports Management) Three-time first-team All-American (2006,2007,2009) at Florida and second-team selection in 2008. Victories at 2006 West Regional, 2007 Ping preview, 2007 East Regional and 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship.
	Will Strickler (2009; Economics, Anthropology) Captain of the golf team during his senior season. Individual medalist at the 2009 Golden Ocala Collegiate. Winner of the 2007 and 2009 Connecticut Amateur Championship.

Players from the University of Georgia

	Ryuji Imada First-team All-SEC freshman and sophomore years, first team All-American 1999. Won first collegiate title at Williams Intercollegiate in 1999 and had seven top-10 finishes during the 1998-99 collegiate season.
	Chris Kirk (2007, Sports Business) Winner of the 2007 Ben Hogan Award. Helped lead Bulldogs to the 2005 NCAA Championship. Earned first-team All-American honors his junior and senior seasons. Three-time first-team All-SEC selection.
	Kevin Kisner(2006, Business Management) Became the first player in UGA history to be named All-American four times. Helped UGA to the 2005 NCAA Championship.
	Matt McQuillan Played for two years at Oklahoma State and then one year at UGA.

Players from Louisiana State University

	Brian Bateman(1996, Marketing) All-America selection in 1996. NCAA Academic All-America in 1995. Three-time All-Southeastern Conference Selection, as well as three-time Academic All-Sec Selection.
	Phil Schmitt Competed three years at LSU, and was teammates with Tour professionals Brian Bateman, D.A. Points, and Scott Sterling. During his career at LSU, finished with five top-10 finishes and 11 top-20 finishes.

Players from Mississippi State

	Michael Connell (1998, Banking and Finance) Two-time All-American at Mississippi State. Won seven collegiate tournaments and was named 1997 SEC Player of the Year.
	Alex Rocha (2000, Marketing) 2000 first-team All-American. 1999 honorable mention All-American.

Player from Ole Miss

Jonathan Rudolph
Earned first team All-American honors his junior year. Three-time All-SEC honoree as well as three-time PING All-Southeast Region selection. Helped lead the Rebels to four consecutive NCAA Regional appearances.

Player from the University of South Carolina