Alabama
SEC East vs. West hosted by Jerry Pate
Dunlap Wins Stroke Play Medalist Honors, Leads Alabama in Day Two of the SEC Match Play Hosted by Jerry Pate
9/26/2023 5:39:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Crimson Tide finished the stroke play portion at 9-under par and will take on Florida in Wednesday’s match play
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama sophomore and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap continued his hot play by winning the SEC Match Play hosted by Jerry Pate individual stroke play title, doing so in dramatic fashion by sinking a birdie putt on the final hole of the day. As a team, the Crimson Tide ended Tuesday's stroke play portion in eighth place overall with a team score of 9-under par 843 (284-279-280) and will face Florida in Wednesday's match play.
Dunlap stole the show with a final round 8-under par 63 Tuesday on his way to carding a 15-under par 198 (70-65-63) across the 54-holes played. The Huntsville, Ala., native drained a 10-foot birdie putt on his 18th hole to move past Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargeant (-14) as the individual stroke play medalist.
Dunlap's total of 198 (70-65-63) is tied for the second-lowest 54-hole tournament total in school history, second only to Bobby Wyatt's school record 192 in the 2014 SEC Championship.
About Dunlap's Win
- The victory is Nick Dunlap's second collegiate win of his career, and first of the season, after he claimed the Linger Longer Invitational last spring
- He set personal-best marks this week for 18-hole score (63), 54-hole total and score vs. par (-15)
- Dunlap becomes the fifth UA golfer to card a round sub-200 score for a tournament, and the first to do so since Robby Shelton achieved the feat in the 2015 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
- Dunlap's birdie on the 18th hole was his team-leading 16th of the tournament and secured the one-shot win over Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargeant
- His 16 birdies ranked fourth-best in the field while his three bogeys were tied for third-fewest
Day Three Highlights
- In addition to Dunlap's day, Canon Claycomb ended play tied for 33rd with a 1-under 212 (71-67-74)
- It was the fifth time over his last six collegiate tournaments dating back to the 2022-23 season that Claycomb finished the event under par
- Jonathan Griz tied for 44th at 2-over par 215 (70-74-71), while Thomas Ponder four strokes back and tied for 59th with a 6-over 219 (73-73-73)
- JP Cave rounded out the Crimson Tide with a 232 (77-82-73)
The Field
- No. 6 Auburn (-41) earned a spot in Wednesday's championship match by winning the stroke play portion and will take on No. 3 Vanderbilt (-28) for the tournament title
- Arkansas (-25) finished third and will face No. 24 Ole Miss (-24), with No. 12 Tennessee (-23) and No. 17 Texas A&M (-21) rounding out the top-six teams
- Alabama will face Florida in the as the teams will tee off at 8 a.m. CT off Hole No. 10
- Admission for fans is free throughout the tournament with live scoring available via Golf Genius
About the Tournament
- The SEC Match Play event replaced the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which was hosted by the Tide for 35 years (1986-2020)
- The event is named after Jerry Pate – one of the most successful professional golfers to have worn the crimson and white
- Mr. Pate continues to pay an active role each year in the event, including presenting the tournament trophy
- The 1974 United States Amateur champion – only weeks before he started his senior season at UA
- Won the 1976 U.S. Open as a rookie on the PGA Tour
- Named the 1976 PGA Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year
- Went on to win eight PGA Tournaments
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaMGolf, on X, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
