Alabama
Linger Longer Invitational
Griz’s Career-Best Round Helps No. 16 Alabama to Opening Round Lead
3/17/2024 3:58:00 PM | Men's Golf
Jonathan Griz carded a 10-under par 62, which is the lowest round vs. par and the second-lowest round in program history
GREENSBORO, Ga. – Jonathan Griz carded the second-lowest score in school history for strokes under par in a round with his 10-under par 62 Sunday, to lead the No. 16 Alabama men's golf team to the opening round lead at the 2024 Linger Longer Invitational. As a team, the Crimson Tide carded a score of 21-under par 267 – the lowest total in relation to par and the second-best single-round score in program history – to take a nine-stroke lead after 18 holes played.
Alabama, the defending champions of the event, had four golfers finish among the top-10 (Griz in first, JP Cave in third and Thomas Ponder and Jones Free tied for sixth), three of which finished with bogey-free rounds (Griz, Cave and Canon Claycomb).
In all, Alabama collected 24 birdies, one bogey and one double bogey throughout its record-setting day.
The three-day, 54-hole event, hosted by Kennesaw State, will continue with second round action Monday at the par 72, 7,436-yard Great Waters Golf Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.
Round One Highlights
- Jonathan Griz was sensational on his career day, finishing with five birdies on hisfront nine along with an eagle and three birdies on the back nine to end the day with his round of 62
- Griz holds a two-shot lead over Clemson's Jonathan Nielsen (64) entering the second round
- JP Cave is along in third place following his 5-under 67 which matches the second-lowest round of his career
- Thomas Ponder (69) and Jones Free (69) ended the day at three-under par 69 and are tied for sixth overall, giving the Tide three golfers inside the top 10
- Canon Claycomb rounds out the starting five with a 2-under par 70 and is in a tie for 17th position
- Additionally, Austin Coggin, who is competing in the event as an individual, finished the day at 1-under 71 and is in a tie for 29th place
Team Highlights
- Alabama holds a nine-stroke lead over No. 13 Virginia (-12) entering second round action
- No. 27 Georgia (-9) is in third, No. 14 Georgia Tech (-8) in fourth with No. 47 UNC Greensboro (-7) and No. 56 Clemson (-7) tied for fifth
- The Tide leads the field in par 3 (-4, 2.80), par 4 (-9, 3.82) and par 5 (-10. 4.50) scoring, while also topping all teams in pars (63) and birdies (24)
- The 14-team field features five teams ranked inside the top 65 in the most recent Spikemark Golf Rankings including No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Alabama and No. 27 Georgia, No. 47 UNC Greensboro, No. 56 Clemson and No. 61 Charlotte
- Other participating teams include Augusta, Georgia State, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Mercer and Wofford
- Live stats throughout the tournament can be found on Golfstat.com
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Players Mentioned
