Add men’s golf to the list of Alabama teams that hold back-to-back national championships.
For the first time in program history, the No. 1 Crimson Tide came out on top for the second consecutive year, winning the NCAA Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. Not only is this a first for the program, but it is also the third time in 30 years a team has won back-to-back championships.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Alabama coach Jay Seawell said. “It’s an amazing feat for our players. It’s only been done three times in the last 30 years. I guess we became the third team to do it ourselves. So to do something that historically doesn’t happen very often, I’m really proud.”
Alabama joins the ranks of Augusta State (2010-11) and Houston (1984-85). The men’s golf program is also the third team in school history to have two straight championships under its belt, along with gymnastics and football.
Alabama beat Oklahoma State 4-1 on the final day of the tournament, due largely to freshman Robby Shelton. Shelton, who has been a breakout player all season, was down by two at the 11th hole before coming back in the 14th hole to tie up the match. In the 17th hole, he took the lead before winning his match. Shelton won the second point for the Crimson Tide.
“The key point, and obviously you have to get three [points] to win, is to get to two,” Seawell said. “If you can get to two [points] then you only have to win one match left. I got word that Robby [Shelton] won his match and I knew we had one match we were behind in and the match I was with we were ahead. And then Cory [Whitsett] pulled ahead.
“I started to get hopeful but I made myself in the moment because anything can happen in athletics and we told ourselves as a team that we were going to play till the final shot. So there was a little bit inside of me where the heart started beating a little bit more and saying that there is a great possibility that this will be a back-to-back year.”
Besides Shelton’s win, all three seniors took home a match victory. Sophomore Tom Lovelady was the only Alabama player to fall to Oklahoma State.
Senior Cory Whitsett, who will join the professional circuit in a few weeks, described winning two championships as a remarkable experience. Whitsett said he joined the Crimson Tide to change the face of collegiate golf. He has since met all of his goals.
“Honestly, winning one year is awesome,” Whitsett said. “To win two and go out the way we did is pretty special. I feel like the career me, Bobby and Trey had while at school was pretty awesome. We definitely proved ourselves to be winners and it was so huge for us to go out on top. We really cemented a legacy of winning while we were here which is pretty cool.”
Along with Whitsett, seniors Bobby Wyatt and Trey Mullinax will also join the professional rankings.
Though Alabama will be losing the three seniors, the lessons they instilled upon Lovelady and Shelton will go a long way this upcoming season. Seawell said there’s excitement to start from the bottom again and work back up to the top. He is, however, sad to see three of his players leave.
“I’m still smiling for sure,” Seawell said. “There’s a little sadness with our seniors leaving. I’m very much proud of what our team has accomplished. I’m very proud of the legacy the senior class has left for the University of Alabama golf and in college golf.”
“Our seniors leave a legacy of winning – in the classroom, out of the classroom, on the golf course. Cory [Whitsett] and Bobby [Wyatt] are 4.0s. They’re going to be academic All-Americans. Trey [Mullinax] will be an academic All-American. They’ve won three SEC [Championships] and two national championships and played in another national runner up. Their legacy is they will be the greatest golf team in the history of our school and it will be debatable if they are one of the greatest golf teams of all time.”
(See also “Alabama Men’s Golf team wins back-to-back National Championship“)
