Alabama
Clemson invitational
Alabama Men’s Golf Places Third at Clemson Invitational
4/9/2017 6:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
Crimson Tide records fourth consecutive top-five finish
SALEM, S.C. – Four Alabama men's golfers finished among the top 20 overall to lead the Crimson Tide to a third-place finish at the 2017 Clemson Invitational. As a team, the Tide carded a 54-hole total of 8-over par 878 (298-284-296) over the three-day event.
"I think we continued to show improvement," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "This shows both our coaches and players the importance of a practice round, especially when it's an unfamiliar course. We could've done better in the practice round and we just never could get comfortable on the golf course. It's a tough golf course and the greens were firm and fast. That helped keep us from playing to the ability that we are capable of. I think we played well, but I think we need to be a little better prepared and that's on me as a coach."
Sophomore Davis Riley led Alabama as he tied for ninth overall with a 1-over par 217 (71-73-73), which marked his third consecutive top-10 finish. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native was especially strong on the par 5 holes where he finished second among all golfers with an average score of 4.73 (-4) over the 54 holes played.
Junior Jonathan Hardee continued his solid play, as he collected his fourth top-20 finish in five tournaments this spring with a 15th-place finish. The Greer, S.C., native ended the event with a 4-over 220 (74-69-77) on the par 72, 7,103-yard Cliffs at Keowee Falls course.
Juniors Lee Hodges (81-69-72) and Steven Setterstrom (75-73-74) tied for 20th with each shooting a 222, while redshirt freshman Josh Sedeno rounded out the Tide golfers with a 234 (78-76-80) to place 49th-overall.
Tournament host and No. 18-ranked Clemson (858) cruised to the team title, finishing 15 strokes better than No. 21 Georgia Tech (873). SMU (885) placed fourth, seven strokes behind the Tide, while the College of Charleston (886) rounded out the top five teams, respectively.
The event was the Tide's final regular season tournament. Alabama will begin postseason play when it competes at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships, held at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.
"I think we've had three tournaments in a row where the team continued to improve and we are gaining confidence," Seawell said. "The SECs are the start of the championship season and I think our guys are getting that confidence that you need to be successful there. We basically have 10 days to get ourselves where we need to be, so we'll give them a couple days off and begin that work on Wednesday."
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