The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide men’s golf team will compete in its first tournament of the 2013 fall season this weekend at the Olympia Invitational. Alabama has played in the event three of the past four years.
The event, held in Olympia Fields, Ill., is the first team competition for the reigning national champions. The Crimson Tide defeated Illinois in June for the program’s first national title.
Two senior leaders for the unit, Cory Whitsett and Bobby Wyatt, return to Tuscaloosa after playing integral parts for the U.S. team in the international Walker Cup. Wyatt scored 3.5 points for the American side, while Whitsett added another two points. Expertise from the two veterans and familiarity with the course being played this weekend should help the team.
“I played there my freshman and sophomore years,” Whitsett said. “It’s very demanding off the tee. You really have to hit the ball well there.”
Whitsett returns as the top overall scorer from last year’s team, averaging just over 71 strokes every 18 holes. Wyatt and fellow senior Trey Mullinax are the other two starters from the national championship squad returning to Alabama. Justin Thomas decided to play professionally after the Walker Cup, and Scott Strohmeyer graduated.
While the Crimson Tide returns many old faces, including 12-year head coach Jay Seawell, who recently earned a raise and contract extension, the program has a few additions for the 2013-14 season, notably new Assistant Coach Mike McGraw. McGraw served as Oklahoma State’s head coach for the past eight years, winning a national championship with the team in 2006. He replaces Rob Bradley, who is now the head coach at Purdue University.
“Having Coach McGraw here now has been great,” Whitsett said. “He actually recruited me when I was in high school. One of my hardest things I had to do was telling him no, and to be able to play for him my last year here is a real honor.”
Whitsett, from Houston, Texas, said though conference and national championship tournaments are months away, the fall season is a good opportunity to scout the competition.
“The main thing for the fall is figuring out which teams are good,” he said. “It’s good for the players and the coaches to kind of feel things out.”
While the Crimson Tide holds down the top spot now, the University of California team comes in at No. 2. The Golden Bears were tough competition in the spring and bring back many starters as well.
