For all of its attention and fanfare, the Crimson Tide football team isn’t the only undefeated, defending national championship team at Alabama this fall.
The No. 1 men’s golf team has also earned an undefeated mark since August, winning its three team tournaments by double-digit stroke margins and carrying a streak of nine straight team wins dating back to March.
For head coach Jay Seawell, it’s the team’s mindset that’s allowed it to reach this point.
“What we’ve done is very good and very exciting, and we’re proud of it, but it has no relevance to what we do in the future,” Seawell said. “When we won, we do a good job of thinking about what we have to do next.”
Alabama will carry that winning streak to California Monday where it will participate in the Gifford Collegiate Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Calif. The event runs through Tuesday and will feature ranked teams from around the nation, including last year’s winner No. 7 UCLA, along with No. 6 Washington and SEC rival Tennessee.
“I think it will give us an indication, as a team, of where we are,” Seawell said.
The unbeaten Crimson Tide has also seen an unexpected leader in stroke averages for the fall in senior Trey Mullinax. Mullinax, from Birmingham, is the only Tide golfer averaging fewer than 70 strokes per 18 holes and has benefited immensely from the recent hiring of assistant coach Mike McGraw.
“He’s got a very teachable spirit,” McGraw said. “Coach Seawell said he’s always been that way. But for some reason he just connected well with me in August, and it’s been going well since.”
McGraw was hired in July from Oklahoma State after previous assistant coach Rob Bradley left for the head coaching vacancy at Purdue. McGraw coached the Cowboys for eight seasons, winning the NCAA championship in 2006.
Mullinax, along with fellow seniors Cory Whitsett and Bobby Wyatt, returned from the 2013 NCAA Championship starting lineup to anchor a veteran-laden team in 2013.
“I knew we had talent,” Seawell said. “What I learned is we had great leadership. I’m really proud of our senior leadership of Cory, Bobby and Trey and it’s good knowing you have guys you can rely on.”
Whitsett has racked up numerous awards during his time with the Crimson Tide, including the 2013 SEC Golfer of the Year. He, along with Wyatt and Mullinax, has started every event of the fall, as well as freshman Robby Shelton, who is second on the team with a 70.56 stroke average. Freshman Gavin Moynihan filled in at the final spot in the first tournament in September, while sophomore Tom Lovelady started the last two tournaments for the Crimson Tide.
Seawell said the starting five isn’t official at this point, though.
“We’ll start back over again in the spring,” Seawell said. “Tom has done a really good job this semester, and with the quick turnaround we thought it would be best to stick with him [in California].”
The Crimson Tide has a break after its fourth and final team event of the fall before starting back at the Puerto Rico Classic in February.
