Alabama
LSU Invitational
Alabama Men’s Golf Disqualified From Play at LSU Invitational
2/28/2021 6:40:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Crimson Tide closed the event on Sunday afternoon
BATON ROUGE, La. – In what was a bizarre turn of events, the Alabama men's golf team was disqualified from play at the LSU Invitational following Saturday's second round. The team went ahead and played Sunday's 18-hole final round, but the individual scores did not count for a team total.
The series of events began Saturday morning when Davis Shore could not play due to a back injury, leaving the Crimson Tide with just four golfers in its lineup. After UA had carded a team score of even par 288 during the second round, it was then discovered Sunday morning as Tide was warming up that freshman JP Cave signed for an incorrect scorecard that was one shot lower than his actual score which caused him to be disqualified. That left Alabama with just three countable scores on Saturday which forced the team to be disqualified.
Despite not playing for a team title, the Tide still competed in the third round as individuals and was led by Wilson Furr who finished tied for third overall with a 54-hole total of even par 216 (79-69-68). It was just his second top-five finish and seventh top-10 result of his career.
Head Coach Jay Seawell Comments
On Team's Disqualification
"It was a strange all that occurred, especially on Saturday after Davis not being able to play. His back seemed to be better and it flared up during the first round. I was really proud of how the team handled that. It's a big deal to only have four guys and I thought they handled that well. Sunday morning, we came to the golf course with an idea of having to do that again and then we were hit with another moment when JP signed for a wrong score on No. 15 (during Saturday's second round). He had a six and signed for a five. With that we were disqualified. I've been coaching for 29 years and this is the first time I've ever had a kid sign for an incorrect card. Those are the rules of golf and that responsibility at the end of the day falls on me as the head coach. I hate it for the guys because I really wanted to see how they would compete as a team and we didn't get that opportunity. In the end, life has a lot of learning experiences and sometimes they are harder than others, but it is just a game and just golf and we will learn from it. We'll make sure to do some things to talk about and move forward on and we'll do some things in the future where certain things won't happen. I look forward to seeing how we handle it. That's what we talked about at the end the round. This can define us negatively or positively depending on how we handle it. I believe in the character of this team and we'll go to work to make sure we are positive."
On Wilson Furr
"Wilson was certainly a bright spot today. He shot a 68 and really had it pumping out there. I am really proud of him. Every time you play golf, you have a certain attitude. If you let external variables like how you played yesterday or the hole before to dictate how you're prepared to play that day, then you're doing it wrong. We got hit in the face with a shovel today to be quite honest and we are now disqualified from the tournament as a team. We chose to play because we wanted to play. That's what we wanted to do. I thought Wilson handled that situation amazingly. I think he's really grown as a player, not only this semester but even more this week. I think he's well on his way to being named an All-American."
Individual Highlights
- After an opening round 79, Furr collected rounds of 3-under 69 on Saturday and 4-under 68 on Sunday and now leads Alabama with seven rounds in the 60s this season
- Thomas Ponder (77-71-75) and Canon Claycomb (74-72-77) tied for 28th overall with each shooting a 54-hole total of 223
- Jack Goldasich, who despite playing as an individual could not allowed to be inserted into the UA lineup per NCAA rules, finished with a 231(78-73-80)
Fun Fact
- Furr was one of just five golfers in the 90-man field to shoot even par or better on the par 72, 7,227-yard University Club golf course
Next Up
- The Crimson Tide will next compete at the Tiger Invitational, which will take place March 15-17 in Auburn Invitational
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
