Alabama Athletics
Alabama Men's Golf Punches Ticket for NCAA Championships
The University of Alabama men's golf team continued its hot play by shooting -13 on the final day of the 2023 Norman Men’s Golf Regional, topping the three-day event with a team score of -28.
The 17th-ranked Crimson Tide outpaced No. 9 Oklahoma (-25) by three strokes to win the tournament. The last thee spots were subsequently wrapped up by Colorado (-23), the Regional’s top seed and No. 5-ranked Texas Tech (-22), and No. 32 Duke (-21) barely edged No. 44 North Florida (-20).
The top five teams advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships hosted by Arizona State University in Scottsdale, Ariz. at the Grayhawk Golf Club, May 26-31.
Led by freshman Jonathan Griz's -6 round on the par-72, 7,452-yard Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, all five Crimson Tide players shot even-par or better Wednesday as Alabama's -13 was tied with Duke for the low team score of the day.
Freshman Nick Dunlap's final-round -2 had him at -9 for the tournament, finishing tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard. Just behind him, senior Canon Claycomb had a final round -3, to finish at -8 overall and tied for ninth place, and Griz was at -6 and tied for 11th.
At -2 for the tournament, senior Thomas Ponder was tied for 28th along with junior JC Cave.
“It feels great and I am so proud of the guys," Crimson Tide coach Jay Seawell said. "Our guys really responded to that challenge all week. We got off to a great start, which is something we talked about and was needed. I thought we hit a little hiccup midway through, but we overcame it and finished strong, especially on the closing holes. I could not be prouder of our team. I am really happy for Jonathan Griz and the way he played shooting 6-under today. He has had some freshman growing pains this season, but he is so coachable and does things the right way. So, to see what he did for us today and help us secure the win is a real treat for him and for us.
“Having all five guys contribute I think is a big reason why won today. We could feel that energy all week. The loss to Vanderbilt (SEC Tournament Match Play Quarterfinals) hurt and I wondered how our guys would respond. I tell them all the time that the road to greatness comes through getting hurt and our guys really responded. I really feel the success this week came from confidence we gained after losing that match. We were determined not to feel like that again. The talk all week was not ever about just qualifying but winning. And when you have teams that start taking that kind of mind set, that’s when you know it can be special."
Alabama had moved into the lead during Tuesday's second round thanks to its score of 8-under par 280. It scored 281 on Monday, and 275 during the final round. Of the Crimson Tide’s 15 total rounds played in the Regional only one was over par.
The Crimson Tide was making its 17th regional appearance under head coach Jay Seawell and its 25th appearance in the event overall.
Alabama has previously won the NCAA Regional four times: 2009 Galloway (N.J.) Regional, 2012 Athens (Ga.) Regional, 2013 Baton Rouge (La.) Regional and 2014 Auburn (Ala.) Regional.
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