'A lot of milkshakes for us on the way home'
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. – All five Alabama starters finished inside the top-20 to lead the No. 13 Crimson Tide men’s golf team to the Hamptons Intercollegiate championship Tuesday afternoon at the Maidstone Golf Club.
The Tide claimed the title with a 24-under par 840 (285-272-283), three strokes better than No. 26 Ohio State (-21).
Huntsville native Nick Dunlap led the way for the Tide throughout the tournament, as he carded a career-best 16-under par 200 (69-60-71) to finish as the individual runner-up in the event. Canon Claycomb also closed play inside the top-10 individuals as he tied for seventh overall with a score of 4-under par 212 (70-71-71).
“I am really proud of how the entire team performed this week. Winning a college golf tournament is a hard thing to do and takes a lot of work and a lot of practice,” Tide coach Jay Seawell said.
“What makes this even better is that it was a whole team effort with all five of our guys having played well. I am proud of our seniors for stepping up this week and of course Nick with the 60 [second round] – there are going to be a lot of milkshakes for us on the way home.”
It was Dunlap’s second consecutive top-two finish. Last week he won the stroke play medalist honor at the SEC Match Play hosted by Jerry Pate. He has now shot a team-leading eight rounds of par of better this season and his 67.00 stroke average is tops nationally.
Claycomb’s seventh-place finish was the 19th top-20 and 10th top-10 result of his career.
Seawell has used a different lineup in each of the Tide’s three fall tournaments, something he said will benefit the team moving forward.
“We have now played three tournaments in a row and we’ve put our guys through the grind,” he said. “I am proud of how they handled the competition. We have been able to play a different lineup each tournament and that’s what this fall is all about. I think we gained a lot of trust this week and that’s only going to help us grow as we move forward.”
Next after the Hamptons Intercollegiate
The Crimson Tide will head to Loxley, Ala. to compete at the Steelwood Collegiate hosted by the University of South Alabama. The event, which will mark the final fall tournament of the season, is Oct. 28-29.
Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.com
Featured image by Alabama Athletics,which contributed to this report
