Alabama Falls Short At SEC Championship

After an incredible performance in the stroke play portion of the SEC championship, the Alabama men's golf team has fallen short in the first round of match play against Vanderbilt.

Heading into the quarterfinals, the Tide had three players finish inside the top 20 of stroke play. Senior Canon Claycomb led the team, finishing at 6-under-par, earning himself his fourth career top-5 finish. Nick Dunlap and Jonathan Griz finished tied for 19th place.

The outstanding initial play let the Crimson Tide move onto the quarterfinal match play portion of the event. They were matched with the No. 1 team, the Vanderbilt Commodores, and the No. 1 player, Gordon Sargent.

Alabama started strong, leading several of the pairings at the start. Despite having early leads, Claycomb, Thomas Ponder, and JP Cave played close matches throughout the day. The largest lead held by an Alabama player was only a two-stroke advantage.

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Slowly but surely, the Commodores fought back into the match. Heading into the last hole of the day, four of five pairings were within one stroke. Dunlap finished the day as the only Alabama player to win his pairing.

Up next for Alabama is the NCAA regional tournament. The Crimson Tide will be looking to ride its momentum and hopefully secure a national championship.