Alabama
John Hayt Intercollegiate
Crimson Tide Golfers Finish Seventh at John Hayt Collegiate
2/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 24, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The fourth-ranked Alabama men's golf team made another move up the leader board in Tuesday's final round on the difficult Sawgrass Country Club layout during the final round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational.
The Crimson Tide moved up two spots to finish in seventh place after their best round of the tournament, a 7-over-par 295 at the par-72, 6,955-yard tract in Jacksonville, Fla. Alabama finished the 54-hole tournament at 43-over-par 907.
"The course was tough all week with the wind, but you expect that down here because it is always tough," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said following Tuesday's final round at the Sawgrass Country Club. "I was proud of the way our three young guys played today in Hunter Hamrick, Bud Cauley and Hunter Slatton. We just couldn't get four guys to play well in the same round. I was proud of the way we fought back throughout the tournament. We put together a nice little comeback at the end."
UA redshirt freshman Hunter Hamrick turned in his third straight even-par round of 72 to finish in a tie for second place at 216. The top-five finish was the first of his Crimson Tide career with his previous best coming with a tie for 11th at the 2008 Jerry Pate National Collegiate. LSU's John Peterson captured medalist honors at 2-under-par 214 for the tournament. Coastal Carolina's Zack Byrd and LSU's Andrew Loupe also finished in a tie for second with Hamrick at even-par 216.
Hamrick shot 1-under par on his opening nine holes with a birdie at No. 8. After making the turn, he birdied No. 11 to move to 2-under par for the round and the tournament and briefly took over the event lead. He ran into trouble on the par-4 13th hole with a double bogey that moved him back to even par and out of the lead. Hamrick then bogeyed No. 15, but came right back with a birdie on No. 16 and pars on his final two holes to finish at even par.
The Sawgrass Country Club course paired with the conditions did not yield a below-par team score for any of the 15 teams over the three rounds. LSU continued its solid play with a final-round 294 (+6) to capture the team title at 21-over-par 885. Arizona State finished second at 29-over-par 893 after a 300 (+12) on Tuesday. Georgia Southern was third at 895 with Georgia State fourth at 900 and Tennessee fifth at 901.
True freshman Bud Cauley and redshirt freshman Hunter Slatton were outstanding for the Tide in the final round. Cauley shot an even-par 72 in the final round and finished in a tied for 17th at 10-over 226. Slatton, who was the only Tide golfer to break par for a round in the tournament, fired a 2-under 70 and finished tied for 22nd at 11-over 227.
Spencer Cole shot an 81 in the final round and tied with teammate Matthew Swan for 76th position at 26-over-par 242. Junior Thomas Hugghins also played as an individual and finished tied for 64th at 21-over-par 237.
Alabama departs Jacksonville for the Puerto Rico Classic at the Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The Tide is the defending champions of the Puerto Rico Classic and Swan is the defending medalist. The three-round, 54-hole event begins on Friday, February 27 and runs through Sunday, March 1.
