Alabama
John Hayt Intercollegiate
Alabama Men’s Golf Surges up Leaderboard in Final Round to Finish in Fourth at the John Hayt Invitational
2/6/2023 4:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Crimson Tide vaulted five spots in the standings on Monday, as four of the five starters carded par or better scores
PONTE VEDRA, Fla. – Four Alabama men's golfers finished among the top 30 individuals, including two inside the top 20, to help lead the team to a fourth-place finish Monday afternoon at the John Hayt Invitational. The Tide closed the two-day, 54-hole event with a team total of 870 (294-293-283), including 5-under par 283 Monday which was the second-lowest team total of the final round.
Four of Alabama's starting five finished at par or better during Monday's final 18 holes which helped the Tide vault five spots up the leaderboard, the largest jump in the third round by any team.
Canon Claycomb and Thomas Ponder led the way for the Tide as both finished among the top-20. Claycomb ended the two-day tournament with a 1-under par 215 (72-71-72), and tied for 14th-place overall, while Ponder finished tied for 18th with a 1-over par 217 (74-73-70).
Jonathan Griz led the Crimson Tide's third-round surge as he fired a three-under par 69 to finish tied for 28th overall at 4-over par 220 (77-74-69), matching teammate Nick Dunlap (73-75-72). Griz's round included five birdies on the back nine, four of which came across his final five holes.
Head Coach Jay Seawell Comments
"I was proud of how they responded today after a pretty disappointing start to the tournament. We were able to respond with the second-best round of the day, so that is something to build on. We have a long way to go and a lot of season left to play. We want to play to a standard that we are capable of playing and we are going to continue to put in the work for us to meet that standard."
Tournament Highlights
- Alabama led the 14-team field with 172 total pars, with Nick Dunlap's 42 pars leading the way which also was tops among all individuals
- Four of the Tide's starting five carded par or better during Monday's round of 5-under 283, which was the second-lowest round by any team on the day
- Canon Claycomb collected his third top-20 finish this season and has now recorded par or better scores in 11 of his 15 tournament rounds played
- Thomas Ponder earned his fourth top-20 finish in five tournaments played, matching Nick Dunlap for the team lead
- Jones Free finished in 50th overall with a 9-over 225 (75-77-73) to round out the starting lineup
- Jack Goldasich, who competed in the event as an individual, finished tied for 63rd overall (74-79-75/228)
- Claycomb ended the event tied for fourth among all individuals on par 5 holes, averaging 4.42 strokes (-7)
The Field
- Second-ranked Vanderbilt (-28) ran away with the team title, winning by 16 shots over No. 42 North Florida (-12)
- Florida Gulf Coast (+5) bested Alabama by a stroke for third overall, while Coastal Carolina (+9) rounded out the top five teams
- The was held at the par 72, 6,966-yard Sawgrass Country Club course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Next Up
- Alabama will be back in action Feb. 19-21 at the Watersound Invitational, hosted by Florida State in Panama City, Fla.
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 Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
