Alabama ends regular season with Shoal Creek title; on to SECs
Alabama's winning team (Alabama Athletics photo)
Only Alabama played the final round of the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate under par. In fact, Alabama was the only team to play the whole tournament under par. It allowed the Crimson Tide, runners-up at last year’s NCAA Championship, to get a team title at a crucial moment.
Head coach Jay Seawell called it a little something good to take into the championship season.
Alabama didn’t finish outside the top 5 in the fall, but the Tide lost arguably their best player at the midway point of the season. Senior Davis Riley left a semester early to chase a professional career, and Alabama struggled without him.
“About three weeks ago we kind of hit a tipping point,” Seawell said in a Twitter interview from Shoal Creek. “We had a great team meeting – one of two things were going to happen: We were either going to implode or get better. And we’ve gotten better. That’s a credit to our players.”
With a junior, two sophomore and two freshmen in the lineup, Alabama went 13 under at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open venue. That was 19 shots better than runner-up LSU. North Florida was another six shots behind that.
Sophomore Wilson Furr led four Alabama golfers who finished among the top-10 individuals, as he claimed his first college individual crown with a season-low 54-hole total of 7-under par 209. After an opening round of even par 72, Furr carded rounds of 4-under 68 and 3-under 69 over the final 36 holes to capture a two-stroke win over North Florida's Cody Carroll (211).
"It feels great," Furr said of earning his first win. "It was a little nerve-wracking out there for sure, but I couldn't be more excited about it. I've always loved playing on (Shoal Creek) and to get our first win out here is great. That's the best part is that we had a total team effort. Everyone played well this week. It's fun. It's always fun to celebrate with my teammates – everything's more fun with them."
Information from Alabama Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE
Shoal Creek Intercollegiate
54 hole men's collegiate golf tournament hosted by
Auburn University. Team (best four scores out of five
players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information