Alabama
Linger Longer Invitational
Alabama Men’s Golf Finishes in Fifth at Linger Longer Invitational
3/21/2017 4:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
Riley and Hodges lead the way as both place among top-10 finishers
GREENSBORO, Ga. – The Alabama men's golf team finished play at the 2017 Linger Longer Invitational on Monday, carding a team total of 7-under par 857 (287-280-290) to place fifth overall in the 15-team field. It marks the second consecutive tournament the Crimson Tide has carded a season-best team total and the second straight top-five finish for the team (also carded an 857 and placed third at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate).
"I thought we did well this week and there are a lot of positives we can take away," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "However, we are really struggling on the fire power in the four and the five spots on our team right now. We will go back to work and try and find who it will be and how we can get it a little better. If we are going to get to the top of the leaderboards, we are going to have to find some more fire power at those positions. We know what we did wrong and the guys will continue to work hard."
Alabama was led by a pair of individuals who finished among the top 10. Sophomore Davis Riley paced the Tide with a season-best 54-hole total of 6-under par 210 (68-70-72) to finish tied for eighth overall. Riley, who finished third in the tournament with 16 total birdies, was especially good on the par 4 holes. His average score of 3.90 on par 4s was second-best in the entire field. It was Riley's first tournament he played in this spring after missing the previous two events due to an injury.
"It was good to get Davis back." Seawell said. "I thought he was a little rusty, but he played really good golf. He toughed out a good round today. He was 4-over par through seven holes and he battled back to finish at even par. It was good to have his scores back in our lineup."
Junior Lee Hodges finished among the top-10 for the third time in his last four tournaments, closing play on Tuesday tied for 10th overall with a 5-under par 211 (71-68-72) on the par 72, 7,073-yard Reynolds Lake Oconee Course at the Great Waters Golf Club. Hodges, who was fifth among all participants on par 5 holes with a combined average of 4.33, has now scored at or below par in 11 of his last 12 rounds. The Ardmore, Tenn., native leads the team with four top-10 finishes this season.
Junior Jonathan Hardee tied for 27th overall after carding an even par 216 (74-69-73) over the three-day event. The Greer, S.C., native, who missed the entire fall season while recovering from an injury, has shot at or under par in each of the Tide's three spring tournaments.
Junior Tyler Hitchner tied for 43rd overall after carding a 4-over par 220 (74-73-73), while senior Dru Love rounded out the Tide golfers in 69th with a 228 (78-74-76).
Senior Robby Prater, who competed as an individual, tied for 69th overall with a 228 (79-73-76).
The Crimson Tide will return to action next week when it competes at the Mason Rudolph Intercollegiate, hosted by top-ranked Vanderbilt, on March 31-April 2 in Nashville, Tenn.
"It's that time of year where you have to play," Seawell said. "The guys will get tomorrow off and then we'll get back to work. We are going to work on the things we didn't do well and work on who will play the four and five for us next week. We play our next tournament at Vanderbilt on their home course and they are one of the top-ranked teams in the country so we need get better quick."
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