The Alabama men’s golf team competed in the Fighting Illini Invitational this weekend in Champaign, Illinois, and finished strong to come in 10th place. The tournament had an elite field with 11 of the 15 teams ranked in the top 25.

“I thought we actually completed a round today,” coach Jay Seawell said. “We played a lot of good golf this week but we failed to finish rounds the first two days and it cost us. We will learn from those things.”

After scoring two 294 totals in the first two rounds, the Crimson Tide was led by sophomore Davis Shore and freshman Thomas Ponder to score 284 on Sunday.

The tournament marked Shore’s first stroke-play start since he was injured in February. Overall, he had his seventh career top-20 finish by placing 14th overall. Shore’s consistency saw him shoot 71 all three rounds.

Along with Shore, Ponder also impressed on Sunday by shooting a 66 in the final round, a 10-shot improvement from the first round and a 9-shot improvement from the second.

“The biggest positives of the week were Davis Shore getting a chance to play and help the team after battling injury and surgery,” Seawell said. “To have him back in our lineup and for him to play well this week is something that gives us great energy. I was also proud of Thomas. He’s a breath of fresh air with the enthusiasm he brings. For anyone to shoot a 66 at Olympia Fields in windy and rainy conditions is something I told him he would remember for a long time.”

The Crimson Tide’s next competition will be the Jerry Pate National Invitational on Oct. 7th and 8th at Old Overton Country Club in Birmingham.