After a strong showing last weekend at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational, in which Alabama broke the tournament record with a staggering 47-under-par team score, the Crimson Tide men’s golf team heads to Greensboro, Ga., for the Linger Longer Invitational. The tournament will be played on Saturday and Sunday at Reynolds Landing Golf Club.
“We definitely hope that we can take that performance and turn it into momentum,” Head Coach Jay Seawell said. “However, sports are taken day-to-day, so we can’t rely solely on momentum to get us through the tournament this weekend or take anything for granted, for that matter.”
Seawell was not worried about his players becoming too confident after their strong performance last weekend. He said he knows that his team is focused and ready for this weekend.
“It’s always a challenge to keep your players focused, but I’m not too worried about it,” Seawell said. “We have the leadership that we need to stay on the right track. We know how to handle success. We need to worry about how we approach this weekend’s invite, not focus on last week’s score.”
If there is one team that Seawell will be keeping an eye out for this weekend, it will be the Georgia Bulldogs.
“The course is practically in their backyard, so they have a leg up on us in that,” Seawell said. “They know the course better than we do, but I still think we are the better team. I’m very confident in our team’s ability.”
Seawell’s confidence can be rooted in his team’s excellent performance during last year’s Linger Longer Invitational after getting the win at 18-under-par. Alabama beat the second-place finisher, Chattanooga, by 18 strokes. Then-freshman Cory Whitsett earned medalist honors, finishing 13-under-par, just ahead of then-teammate Bud Cauley, who finished 12-under par.
Seawell’s assurance can also come from his very talented team that has four All-Americans. However, he did stress the need for some improvements going into this weekend.
When asked about what specific improvements are needed after last week’s invite, Coach Seawell said, “Our mental approach to the weekend is key. I depend on all of my guys to prepare and perform well at every invite and round of golf that they play.”
Seawell is an advocate of not worrying too much about the actual score that his players accumulate, but he instead stresses focusing on the mental aspect of the match.
“If you get stuck worrying about the score, it won’t get you anywhere. Golf is an incredibly mental sport. If you focus on what you have to do and do it right, then the score will take care of itself, as it did last weekend. That’s always been my philosophy for preparation. That’s what we do best, and we just have to keep doing that, and we’ll be just fine.”
