Alabama
NCAA Regionals
Alabama Men's Golf Earns Berth into NCAA Championships
5/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 21, 2011
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. - The Alabama men's golf team qualified for its fifth NCAA Championship in the last seven years with a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional on Saturday at the par-71, 7,025-yard Wolf Run Golf Club.
Alabama shot a 1-over-par 285 on Saturday for a 5-under-par 847 but Michigan caught fire on the back nine and carded a 275 (-9) on Saturday for an 11-under-par total of 841 with Illinois in second place at 9-under 843. Tennessee and Iowa tied for fourth place to claim the final two qualifying spots for the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek on May 31-June 5, in Stillwater Okla.
"I'm a little disappointed we didn't win," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said following Saturday's final round. I think it was a valuable experience and a good lesson for our team. When you get to this time of the year, if you want to win, you have to be great and we were just good this week. But you can't win an NCAA Championship unless you get to play and we are excited for the opportunity."
The Crimson Tide received three solid rounds from Bud Cauley, Hunter Hamrick and Cory Whitsett but could not find the fourth score to allow them to contend for the team title.
"That fourth score was what we were missing all weekend," Seawell said. "That was the difference in winning and finishing third. We need all five of our guys to be good at the same time if we want to do something special at NCAAs."
Cauley finished third individually with a 6-under-par 207 after a 3-under 68 in the final round. Michigan's Lion Kim and Illinois' Luke Guthrie blitzed the field on Saturday to claim medalist honors with a pair of 6-under 65s for an 8-under 205. It is the fifth time this year Cauley has shot in the 60s in the final round and the eighth time he has shot under par in round three.
Cauley lowered his season scoring average to a school-record 70.39 while posting his eighth top-10 finish in 11 tournaments. He has recorded 13 rounds in the 60s this season, 20 rounds under par and 23 rounds of par or better out of 33 rounds of golf.
Hunter Hamrick finished one shot back of Cauley in a tie for fourth place after shooting a 2-under-par 69 in the final round for a 4-under-par 209. It was Hamrick's second-best 54-hole score of the season (208 at the All-America Classic) while the tie for fourth was his highest finish of the season.
Cory Whitsett carded his second straight even-par 71 with a round that included three birdies and three bogeys. He finished tied for 16th individually for his 10th top-20 finish in 10 events this year.
The fourth counting score is where the Tide found trouble in the final round. Bobby Wyatt counted for the Tide with a 5-over-par 77 while Trey Mullinax's double bogey on the 18th left him with a 78. Mullinax finished tied for 31st at 8-over 221 while Wyatt was 41st at 11-over 224.
Alabama will be making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Championship and its fifth in the last seven years under the guidance of head coach Jay Seawell. UA finished 15th in its last NCAA Championship appearance in 2009 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The visit to Karsten Creek will be the first for the Crimson Tide, who did not make it out of the NCAA East Regional in 2003, the only other year Karsten Creek hosted the NCAA Championship. However, it will be the Tide's second visit to Stillwater for the NCAA Championships, UA finished 17th in 1973 at Stillwater Country Club in their first appearance in the NCAA Finals.
