The No. 18 Alabama men’s golf team defended its title at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, taking home first place for the second year in a row in Grand Haven, Michigan, at American Dunes Golf Club from Sept. 8-10.
“It really feels great. I’m really proud of the guys,” head coach Jay Seawell said. “They prepared hard in the couple of weeks leading up to the season opener, and we just played really well throughout the week.”
The Crimson Tide dominated the rest of the field, finishing 5-under-par and was the only team under par for the tournament, six strokes clear of Notre Dame. Sophomore William Jennings led the way, taking home first place shooting 4-under-par on the individual side of the tournament in just his second collegiate start. With Jennings’ win, he received a PGA Tour exemption into the Rocket Classic from July 30 to Aug. 2.
“William is a great story of perseverance,” Seawell said. “He pushed through some really low times as a golfer. He did not play well for us last February, and he just has worked so hard. I couldn’t be more proud of him, all of our coaches and teammates, to help him get to this point. He came to us as one of the top recruits in the country, and if we are going to be a championship team, we certainly need William to help us reach our goals.”
The Crimson Tide finished the first day of the tournament tied with Notre Dame for first place with a combined score of 1-over-par, carding a total score of 285. The team captain, senior Jonathan Griz, led the way, shooting a 1-under-par round, suitable for a 71, and tied for second place on the individual leaderboard.
Jennings and junior Jack Mitchell each put together even par rounds of 71 and finished day one tied for eighth place. Mitchell, who started on the back nine on Monday on hole 10, got hot in the middle of his round, making four birdies in five holes from holes 17 to three, including three straight birdies on holes one, two and three.
Graduate student Connor Brown had a solid round on Monday with three bogeys and one birdie, shooting a round of 73, a 2-over-par. Sophomore Nicholas Gross didn’t get off to the best start in round one with a 75, 4-over-par, but in the team event, only the top four scores are counted, so it didn’t affect the Crimson Tide.
On Day 2, the Crimson Tide finished three strokes clear of the Fighting Irish and was the only team under par through 36 holes at 3-under-par, thanks to a combined score of 280 4-under-par. Jennings led the way with a round of 4-under-par, carding a 67, tying the low round of the tournament and in sole possession of first place on the individual leaderboard.
Griz concluded Day 2 still at 1-under-par, thanks to an even par round of 71, and tied for third place. Mitchell remained at even par on account of his second straight round of 71 and tied for seventh place individually.
Brown also put together an even par round of 71 and finished Tuesday 2-over-par through 36 holes and tied for 13th place. Gross’s struggles continued Tuesday with a round of 9-over-par, carding an 80 tied for 64th, but it did not affect the Crimson Tide’s team score.
On the third and final day of the tournament, the Crimson Tide finished 2-under-par with a score of 282. Mitchell led the way with a 2-under-par round of 69 to finish in fourth place individually. Brown shot a 70 1-under-par round and finished tied for seventh place.
Jennings put together an even par round of 71, highlighted by four straight birdies to close out his front nine, but he bogeyed his last three holes of the tournament to make things interesting down the stretch and win by one stroke.
“It was a lot coming down the stretch,” Jennings said on Golf Channel following his win. “Kind of left it in and bogeyed the last three holes. But this is a great experience; I played well this summer and had a lot of good practice coming into this.”
Gross, who struggled in the first two rounds of the tournament, showed up when it mattered the most on Wednesday in the final round, carding a 72, 1-over-par, to finish tied for 53rd. Griz, who was excellent in the first two rounds, struggled in round three with a score of 78, 7-over-par, finishing tied for 25th.
The Crimson Tide’s next event will be from Sept. 19-21 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois for the Fighting Illini Invitational.
