Crimson Tide Making Sixth NCAA Appearance Under Seawell
5/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 25, 2009
112th NCAA Championships Info
NCAA Championships
May 26-30, 2009
Inverness Club
Par 71, 7,255 yards
Toledo, Ohio
Live Scoring: www.golfstats.com
Alabama Starting Lineup
Bud Cauley
Matthew Swan
Hunter Hamrick
Matt Hughes
Spencer Cole
Crimson Tide Making Sixth NCAA Appearance Under Seawell
The ninth-ranked and second-seeded Crimson Tide men's golf team makes its third straight trip to the NCAA Championships and their fourth in the last five years under head coach Jay Seawell. The 112th NCAA Men's Golf Championships gets underway on May 26-30 and will be played at the par-71, 7,255-yard Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The Crimson Tide advanced to the championships by winning the first regional title in school history. UA claimed the Northeast Regional with a four-stroke win over Tennessee. Redshirt freshman Hunter Hamrick claimed medalist honors with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes for a 1-stroke win at 1-under-par 212. UA returns two players from the 2008 team that finished tied for 13th at the NCAA Championships. Seniors Matthew Swan and Matt Hughes provide the Tide with knowledge and experience while three freshmen fill out the remainder of the Alabama squad. Alabama will tee its first round off at 11:12 a.m. (CDT) on the 10th tee. Live stats can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Starting Five
Alabama sent the same lineup to the NCAA Championships that captured the NCAA Northeast Regional. True freshman Bud Cauley will remain in the No. 1 spot for the Tide. Cauley, who leads the team with a 71.59 stroke average is ranked fifth nationally in the Golfweek/Performance Index. He captured his first collegiate win at the U.S. Collegiate Championship where he tied for medalist honors with a 4-under-par 212 on the challenging Lakeside Course at The Golf Club of Georgia. Senior Matthew Swan, a three-time All-SEC selection, is in the No. 2 position and making his third start in the NCAA Championships. Redshirt freshman Hunter Hamrick will be playing as the Tide's No. 3 after capturing medalist honors at the NCAA Northeast Regional and moving up to No. 42 in the lastest Golfweek/Performance Index. Senior Matt Hughes is making his second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and playing in the No. 4 spot while redshirt freshman Spencer Cole rounds out the Alabama lineup in the No. 5 position.
New-Look NCAA Tournament
The NCAA men's golf tournament will take on a new look in 2009 with the first change in the tournament format since 1989. The old 30-team, three-regional format was replaced by a six-regional schedule that saw 30 teams and six individuals advance to the NCAA Championships.
Those 30 teams play 54 holes of stroke play with the individual champion being declared at that point. The top eight teams after the 54 holes of stroke play will then move on to match play and be seeded according to their finish in the stroke play portion. The No. 1 team will face the No. 8 team, No. 2 will face No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. The team that wins three rounds of match play will be crowned the national champion.
Honors Adding Up for Cauley
True freshman Bud Cauley has already garnered numerous honors in his first season on the collegiate circuit and is in contention for many more. The Jacksonville, Fla., native ranks fifth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, and his 71.59 scoring average is the second-highest in the Southeastern Conference. Cauley was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and was also selected first-team All-SEC. But the rookie is also a strong candidate for first-team All-America honors and was a semifinalist for The Hogan Award, given to the nation's top golfer. Cauley has also recently been selected to play for the American team at the Palmer Cup. He won his first collegiate tournament in early April with an impressive performance at the United States Collegiate Championship. Cauley fired rounds of 70, 69 and 73 to share medalist honors with UCLA's Erik Flores. Cauley was named the SEC Golfer of the Week for his efforts. He then followed that with a fifth-place finish at the SEC Championships (212, -4) and a tie for third at the NCAA Northeast Regional (217, +4).
Swan Song for the Seniors
Two seniors, Matthew Swan and Matt Hughes dot the Crimson Tide's lineup for the 2009 NCAA Championships. Swan brings the most experience of any UA golfer into the event with 133 career rounds, including 20 career rounds of NCAA postseason play. Swan has nine career top 10 finishes. He has 39 career rounds under par with a 54-hole best of 12-under 204 in a win at the 2008 Puerto Rico Classic. Hughes, a Dalton, Ga., native is making his second straight NCAA Championships start. Hughes has two-career top-10 finishes in 18 career events.
Freshmen Success
Alabama lost five lettermen to graduation from its 2008 SEC Championship team and are once again in the hunt in 2009 with a lot of help from some youngsters. The Tide feature three freshmen - two redshirts - in their starting lineup for the 2009 SEC Championships and have seen four freshmen in the lineup at times during the 2008-09 season. Bud Cauley, the Tide's only true freshman, has led a group of rookies that also include redshirts Hunter Hamrick, Hunter Slatton and Spencer Cole. All four of those freshmen have played at least 14 rounds of golf in the UA lineup this season. Cauly leads the way with a 71.59 stroke average and was a first-team All-SEC selection and picked to the Palmer Cup team. Hamrick is right behind at 73.21 in stroke average and was named Freshman All-SEC. Slatton boasts a 74.65 stroke average with Cole at 75.79.
Rankings Rundown
Alabama enters the 2009 NCAA Northeast Regional ranked ninth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance and 11th in the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' Poll. The Tide's top team finish was a win at the NCAA Northeast Regional and the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. UA also produced strong fifth-place showings at the Ping/Golfweek Preview in the fall and the United States Collegiate Championship in early April.
Individually, Bud Cauley is fifth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, and his 71.59 scoring average is the second-highest in the Southeastern Conference while ranking eighth in the men's Golfstat Cup standings. Hunter Hamrick is 42nd in the performance index.
Crimson Tide Under Seawell
Alabama head coach Jay Seawell is in his seventh season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program. He has led the Tide to 14 tournament titles, including the 2009 NCAA Northeast Regional and the 2008 SEC Championship while advanced to NCAA play six times. He has coached 11 All-America honors, including four during his time in Tuscaloosa with more expected this year. On his watch, the Crimson Tide has produced eight medalists after Bud Cauley's win at the Untied State Collegiate Championship and Hunter Hamrick's title at the 2009 NCAA Northeast Regional. Overall, Alabama has competed in 86 tournaments under Seawell and finished in the top 5 on 47 occasions (55 percent). UA has finished either first or second 21 times.
Players Mentioned
