Alabama
Shoal Creek Invitational
Wilson Furr Leads No. 24 Alabama Men’s Golf to the 2019 Shoal Creek Invitational Team Title
4/16/2019 7:25:00 PM | Men's Golf
Furr claims first collegiate medalist honor with a career-best 54-hole total to lead the Crimson Tide to its first tournament victory of the season
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. – Sophomore Wilson Furr claimed his first career collegiate medalist honor to lead the No. 24 Alabama men's golf team to a dominant victory at the inaugural Shoal Creek Invitational on Tuesday afternoon. The Crimson Tide, who secured the team's first tournament championship of the 2018-19 season with the win, played solid golf from start to finish and was the only team to end play below par with a 54-hole total of 13-under 851 (285-281-285) – 19 shots better than the next closest team.
Alabama's 54-hole total was not only its lowest team score of the spring season, but the 13-under par was also the best relation to par of the spring and second-best of the entire campaign. LSU, ranked No. 12 in the nation, was the next closest finisher at 6-over par 870, while No. 15 North Florida was third with an 876.
"I am really proud of our guys," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "About three weeks ago, we kind of hit that tipping point and I thought they've done an incredible job since then. We had a team meeting and one of two things was going to happen; we were either going to implode or we were going to get better and we've certainly gotten better. That's a testament to our players. They have worked their tails off, we've had great practices and the energy has been there. He had some adversity this season, but our guys never quit. We're getting better and it's nice to have something good happen prior to playing in the postseason."
Furr led four Alabama golfers who finished among the top-10 individuals, as he claimed his first college individual crown with a season-low 54-hole total of 7-under par 209. After an opening round of even par 72, Furr carded rounds of 4-under 68 and 3-under 69 over the final 36 holes to capture a two-stroke win over North Florida's Cody Carroll (211). It was his second career top-five finish, besting the third-place result at the 2018 NCAA Stockton Regional, where he carded a career-best 9-under 207.
"It feels great," Furr said of earning his first win. "It was a little nerve-wracking out there for sure, but I couldn't be more excited about it. I've always loved playing on (Shoal Creek) and to get our first win out here is great. That's the best part is that we had a total team effort. Everyone played well this week. It's fun. It's always fun to celebrate with my teammates – everything's more fun with them."
Furr finished the tournament with 14 birdies, which ranked second in the entire field, while his two eagles were tied for first among all individuals. The Jackson, Miss., native has now collected nine rounds in the 60s and 15 rounds of par or better this season, both of which lead the team.
Freshman Prescott Butler earned the best finish of the season and first-ever top-five result as he tied for fourth overall with a 2-under par 214 (70-73-71). The 54-hole total matched a season-best mark, which was set at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate last fall.
Junior Josh Sedeno and freshman Frankie Capan III each collected their second top-10 result of the season, finishing in sixth and eighth place, respectively. Sedeno ended the event with a 1-under 215 (71-74-70) on his way to earning his second top-10 result over the Tide's last three tournaments. Capan carded an even par 216 (73-66-77) as he matched his season-best finish of eighth-place which was set in UA's first tournament of the year, the Carpet Capital Collegiate.
Sophomore Jake DeZoort rounded out the Alabama golfers as he tied for 31st with a 222 (72-75-75) on the par 72, 7,400-yard Shoal Creek Country Club course.
The 15-team field was forced to play 36 holes on Tuesday after squeezing in only 18 holes on Monday. The tournament's schedule was forced to change format due to heavy rains in the area that saturated the course early Sunday morning.
The Tide will return to action on April 24-28 when it competes at the SEC Championships, which will be held at Sea Island, Ga. Live stats can be found on Golfstat.com throughout tournament play.
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
