The Alabama men’s golf team led after two rounds of The Hayt golf tournament in Ponte Vedra, Fla., but then the weather came. Harsh wind conditions affected the team’s play in the third round, and Alabama dropped back to a third-place finish by tournament’s end. Texas (-18) took top honors, while the Duke golf team (-11) finished second.
“Today we played in very difficult conditions with winds blowing 30 miles per hour and to be honest we didn’t handle it well,” said Alabama head golf coach Jay Seawell. “It affected us and that’s exactly what we have to learn to overcome for us to take that next step. We are going to work on that, but we have to take ownership in what we didn’t do well, and I know we will.”
The 54-hole tournament was played on the par-72 6,966-yard TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, and Alabama finished with a team score of 6-under par (279-275-304). The finish was the second top-three team finish for the Crimson Tide in as many tournaments this spring.
Two Crimson Tide golfers finished in the top 10 individuals: Jonathan Griz tied for fourth overall at 5-under 211 (67-68-76) and Jones Free tied for sixth at 4-under 212 (73-66-73). The Tide’s Dominic Clemons finished in the top 20 in 18th position at 1-over 217 (69-72-76).
Here’s a look at the tournament’s final results:
https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/233912/scoring/team
“I am proud that we have put ourselves in a position to win in each of the first two tournaments,” Seawell added. “This tournament we played really well the first two rounds and were leading going into today but just couldn’t finish it. We have a very good team at the end of the day, and we know we have to put in the work so we can get better and take that next step.” TG
Cover Photo: Alabama Golfer Jones Free – Photo courtesy UA Athletics.
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