Alabama
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
JP Cave Finishes Runner-Up to Lead Alabama Men’s Golf to a Fifth Place at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
9/19/2021 5:06:00 PM | Men's Golf
Cave tied his career-best 54-hole tournament score and set a career-best result with his runner-up result
CHICAGO – Alabama sophomore JP Cave finished runner-up to lead the men's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Olympia Fields CC/Fighting Illini Invitational. The Crimson Tide earned a top-five result by carding a 54-hole team total of 15-over par 855 (289-284-282).
The 15-team field not only featured 12 teams ranked among the nation's top 40 in the latest Bushnell Golf Coaches Association latest national rankings, but it was highlighted by five of the nation's top-six ranked teams including defending national champion Pepperdine.
Head Coach Jay Seawell Comments
"I am really proud of this team. They have grown tremendously across these last two weeks. After a kind of nervy first round in Arizona (Maui Jim Intercollegiate), they have responded. I am proud of their development. We came to Olympia Fields, which is a major championship golf course, and accepted the challenge of playing alongside great teams. We played with the defending national champions (Sunday), and played with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, along with other elite teams in college golf. Our guys found out we can play with them. We still have a long way to go, but I was proud of the steps we made in our program development this week."
JP Cave Highlights
- Cave finished with a 54-hole tournament at 2-under 208, including finishing 7-under par 133 over his final 36 holes
- After opening with a 5-over par 75 in Friday's opening round, Cave responded with a career-best 18-hole score of 4-under 66 followed by a 3-under 67 Sunday
- He also set career-best numbers in 54-hole tournament total, earned the best finish of his career and recorded back-to-back consecutive rounds in the 60s for the first time in his career
- He finished two strokes behind tournament medalist Austin Greaser of North Carolina (206) and tied Arizona State teammates David Puig and Cameron Sisk
- Seawell on Cave's performance: "I walked 54 holes this week and he really grew as a player this week. That's why I love coming to Olympia Fields. I think it's a great teaching place if you let it be. JP grew right in front of my eyes and was incredible, especially these last two days. To go through this place at 7-under par with only one bogey is pretty elite stuff."
Individual Highlights
- Canon Claycomb and Thomas Ponder tied for 17th overall at 213 to give the Crimson Tide three top-20 finishers
- Claycomb finished with rounds of 69-73-71 on the famed par-70, 7,205-yard Olympia Fields Country Club North Course
- Ponder earned his second straight top-20 finish to start the season by collected rounds of 72-69-72
- Tyler Lipscomb tied for 69th with a 226 (73-76-77) while Jack Goldasich rounds out the Tide in a tie for 73rd with a 228 (79-77-72)
The Field
- No. 6 North Carolina (842) held off No. 5 Arizona State (845) to claim the team championship in the star-studded 15-team field
- Top-ranked Oklahoma State (851) finished third followed by No. 19 Stanford (854), who finished one shot better than the Crimson Tide
- In addition to topping Pepperdine, Alabama also one-upped the likes of No. 4 Texas (858), No. 20 Florida (862), No. 12 Baylor (868) and No. 16 Florida State (872), among others
Next Up
- The Crimson Tide will host the SEC Match Play Event, hosted by Jerry Pate
- The tournament will be held at Shoal Creek Country Club Oct. 10-12
- Entrance is free to all fans, masks are encouraged
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
