Alabama
Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
Crimson Tide Fourth at Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational
3/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 21, 2010
STATESBORO, Ga. - Sophomore Hunter Hamrick carded a 2-under-par 70 on Sunday in the final round of the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational to finish tied atop the individual leaderboard while Alabama shot even-par 288 as a team to finish fourth on the par-72, 6,947-yard layout.
At the end of play, three individuals were tied for first, which forced Hamrick, North Florida's Jordan Gibb and Mississippi's Jonathan Randolph into a playoff. Randolph won the playoff to capture medalist honors with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
"Hunter (Hamrick) just played great this weekend," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "He didn't have his best tournament the last time out, and he has worked really hard since then to get better and I think that showed. This is the third time this season he has finished atop the leaderboard and that is a big deal. I'm really proud of him, and the success he is having."
Hamrick, a native of Montgomery, Ala., just missed his third tournament victory of the season. He previously captured medalist honors at Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and the Western Refining All-American Classic. Hamrick shot an opening-round 73 and followed that with a 4-under 68 on Saturday and a 70 on Sunday in the final round, which consisted of two birdies and 16 pars.
The Crimson Tide also moved up two spots on the leaderboard in the final round with an even-par 288 to finish in fourth place, six shots behind Auburn, who carded a 2-under-par total of 862 for the win. North Florida relinquished the second-round lead with an 11-over par 299 in the third round to finish second at 1-under-par 863. Virginia was third at 1-over-par 865 while Tennessee and Mississippi tied for fifth at 7-over 871.
"We are getting better each time we play," Seawell said following Sunday's final round. "We are making strides in the right direction and that is all you are looking for right now. The team has to start playing better in the first round and not putting ourselves in such a hole, but I was proud of our effort this week and look forward to seeing what this team can do."
Hunter Slatton, a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., finished tied for 20th with his second straight 2-over-par 74 on Sunday, totaling a 2-over 218 over 54 holes. The tied-for-20th position equaled his best finish of the season.
Sophomore Bud Cauley tuned in an even-par 72 in the final round - his second consecutive even-par round - to finish tied for 20th at 3-over-par 219. Redshirt freshman Lee Knox, who was playing just 79 miles from his hometown of Augusta, Ga., put together the best 54-holes of his young career with a 5-over-par total of 221. He shot a 1-over 73 on Sunday after carding rounds of 74 in the first two rounds of play.
Redshirt freshman Scott Strohmeyer fired his best round of the tournament with a 1-over-par 73 in the third and final round, finishing tied for 56th at 9-over-par 225.
Alabama gets right back to action with the Linger Longer Invitational on March 26-28 at the Reynolds Landing Golf Club in Greensboro, Ga.
Players Mentioned
