Alabama
Linger Longer Invitational
Alabama Men’s Golf Returns to Action at Linger Longer Invitational
3/18/2017 1:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
Crimson Tide has won tournament four of last six years
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama men's golf team will begin a stretch of playing three tournaments in the next three weeks when it travels to Greensboro, Ga., to compete at the 2017 Linger Longer Invitational. The event will be held Sunday through Tuesday, March 19-21, on the par-72, 7,073-yard Great Waters Golf Club at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
The Tide has won the tournament four of the last six years, including last year's title when it carded a team total of 12-under par 852. Alabama also achieved the feat in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Alabama enters this week's event coming off its best showing of the 2016-17 season, finishing with a team score of 7-under par 857 to place third overall at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. Individually, junior Lee Hodges carded three consecutive sub-70 rounds to claim medalist honors with a 10-under par 206 (69-68-69). As a result, Hodges was named the SEC Men's Golfer of the Week.
Hodges will headline the Alabama lineup for the Linger Longer, boasting a team-leading 71.87 strokes per round and a 0.67 average vs. par. In addition, sophomore Davis Riley, who has not played in the Tide's first two spring tournaments while recovering from an injury, returns to the lineup for this week's event.
Junior Jonathan Hardee will play at the No. 3 position after posting solid outings in the Tide's two spring tournaments. The Greer, S.C., native, who did not see any action in the fall while recovering from an injury, has had a pair of top-20 results and has yet to shoot over par in a tournament this season.
Junior Tyler Hitchner and senior Dru Love will round out the Alabama starting lineup. Senior Robby Prater will compete as an individual during the three-day, 54-hole event.
In addition to the Crimson Tide, this year's 14-team field includes five teams ranked among the top 40 in the nation. Along with Alabama, the field includes No. 30 Augusta, No. 7 Baylor, Charlotte, No. 19 Georgia, No. 31 Kennesaw State, Maryland, Mercer, Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, Ohio State, Troy, No. 2 Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth and UNC Greensboro.
Alabama is scheduled to begin play at 7:30 a.m. CT (8:30 a.m. ET) of Hole No. 1, and will be paired alongside Troy and Virginia.
Live scoring for this year's tournament can be found at www.Golfstat.com.
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.
Players Mentioned
