Fourth-Ranked Alabama Men’s Golf Wins 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
The fourth-ranked Alabama men's golf team turned in a 3-under par 277 performance in Tuesday’s final round to capture the team title at the 2017 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. The Crimson Tide claimed the championship with a 54-hole score at 19-under par 821 (271-273-277), finishing six strokes ahead of its nearest competition.
With the victory, Alabama clinched its fifth JPNI title in the last six years and ninth all-time – all of which have come over the past 12 years. Additionally, it marked the second team championship in three outings for Alabama this fall. The Crimson Tide also shared team honors at season-opening Carpet Capital Classic. UA’s head-to-head record now stands at 37-1-1 for the year, with the lone defeat coming to top-ranked Texas A&M.
“It’s great to win this event,” Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. “I’m really proud of our guys and how they handled the final five or six holes, because it got really tight. I think they learned from the last two tournaments they played, so as a coach I am really proud of that.”
Playing in warm and humid conditions for the second day in a row, the Tide held off a furious rally by runner-up and 11th-ranked Auburn (282-278-267/827), which started the day at even par, but posted a third round score of 13-under par to finish six shots back in second place. Seventh-ranked Baylor (269-277-282/828), finished third at 12-under par. BYU (280-271-290/841), ranked 21st in the nation, was fourth at 1-over par, while No. 16 Arkansas (286-269-287/842) rounded out the top five at 2-over par.
Individually, the Tide was led on Tuesday by junior Lee Hodges, who fired a final-round 1-under par 69 and finished third overall with a career-best 54-hole total of 9-under par 201 (67-65-69) – one shot behind co-medalists Shintaro Ban of UNLV and Mason Overstreet of Arkansas. The Ardmore, Tenn., native was one of only three golfers who finished below par in each round at the par-70, 7,204-yard Old Overton Club.
Junior Davis Riley (67-71-66/204) finished sixth overall at 6-under par after a 4-under 66 third round. Freshman Davis Shore (69-67-71/207) turned in a 1-over par round to tie for ninth place at 3-under par, his best 54-hole score and finish of his young career. Senior Steven Setterstrom (68-70-75/213) tied for 21st at 3-over par while fellow senior Jonathan Hardee (74-72-71/217) tied for 35th at 7-over par.
“I think we have a team that want to be winners and care about each other,” Seawell said. “In the ups and downs, we had a lot of guys bounce back and do things properly. When things don’t go your way, it’s real easy to get selfish and none of our guys did that. I was really proud of they played great team golf today. It was another great win at the Jerry Pate, who is always so kind to give his time and money to make this a special event for everybody. So for us to win it, which we’ve done a few times now, makes it even more special.”
The Crimson Tide will play their final tournament of the fall portion of its schedule at South Alabama’s Steelwood Collegiate, Oct. 28-29, in Loxley, Ala.
Follow live scoring at www.golfstat.com and get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaMGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.