Alabama
Watersound Invitational
Ponder Takes Opening Round Lead at Watersound Invitational
2/19/2024 5:56:00 PM | Men's Golf
Thomas Ponder fires a 6-under par 66 to share the clubhouse lead after the round one
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Alabama senior Thomas Ponder carded an opening round score of 6-under par 66 and owns a share of the overall lead after Monday's opening round of play at the Watersound Invitational. As a team, the Crimson Tide finished the day at 1-under par 287 and is in a tie for sixth place overall entering Tuesday's second round.
Ponder, who began his round on the back nine, eagled the par 5 13th hole and went on to collect birdies in three of his next five holes to finish at 5-under par on the front nine. He went on to record two bogeys and three birdies across his back nine to result in the 6-under par total.
The three-day, 54-hole event, hosted by the Crimson Tide, will take place Monday through Wednesday on the par 72, 7,246-yard Sharks Tooth Golf Club course in Panama City, Fla.
The Highlights
- Thomas Ponder's round of 66 was not only a season-best 18-hole score, but marked his best total since shooting a 64 in the opening round of the 2023 SEC Championships
- Ponder leads the field in par 3 (2.75, -1) and par 5 (3.75, -2) scoring
- As a team, the Crimson Tide ranks third in the 12-team field on par 5s (4.65, -7)
- Alabama's 17 total birdies is tied for sixth-best in the field
TP is now the overall leader at -6 thru 11 holes!!#RollTide pic.twitter.com/okWanTj3a1
— Alabama Men's Golf (@AlabamaMGolf) February 19, 2024
Individual Results
- In addition to Ponder's round, JP Cave was the team's second-best finisher after carding a 1-over par 73 to end the day in a tie for 37th
- Both Canon Claycomb and Austin Coggin are tied for 48th overall after each collected a 2-over par 74
- Jonathan Griz rounds out the Tide starters at 5-over par 77
- Jones Free and Luke Coyle are each competing as individuals across the three-day, 54-hole event
- Free carded a 1-under 71 and in a tie for 15th, while Coyle is tied for 61st as he finished at 4-over par 76
Team Results
- No. 3 Vanderbilt holds the lead with a score of 10-under par 278, five shots better than No. 17 Mississippi State (-5) and Clemson (-5)
- No. 39 Notre Dame (-4) is in fourth with No. 11 Virginia (-2) rounds out the top five teams
- No. 9 Georgia Tech (-1) is tied with Alabama for sixth
- In all, the 12-team field features nine teams ranked in the Bushnell/Golfweek DI top-40 national rankings
- Live stats throughout the tournament can be found on Golfstat.com
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 Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
