No. 21 Alabama Men's Golf Set to Compete at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Fresh off its head-to-head victory over Army West Point in the Bush Cup last Tuesday, the No. 21-ranked Alabama men's golf team is back in action for its second tournament of the week when it competes in the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational.

This year's OFCC Invite will take place Sept. 20-22 at the famed Olympia Fields Country Club North Course, a par-70, 7,205-yard track that has hosted two U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, five Western Opens and a U.S. Senior Open, among other high-level tournaments.

The Crimson Tide will tee off its first round on Friday morning. Live scoring can be found throughout the tournament on Golfstat.com.

The Alabama Lineup

Alabama's starting five include juniors Wilson Furr and Davis Shore, sophomores Frankie Capan III and Prescott Butler and freshman Thomas Ponder.
Freshman Simms Abney will also be on the trip and will compete as an individual over the three-day event.

Tournament Info

Now in its 14th season, the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational welcomes the nation's top teams to the famed Olympia Fields Country Club.
Eleven of the 15 teams in this year's field are ranked in the Golf Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll, while two others are receiving votes to be ranked
The teams competing in this year's event include: No. 1 Texas, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 16 California, No. 19 Illinois, No. 20 Baylor, No. 21 Alabama, No. 23 North Carolina, No. 25 Florida, (RV) Florida State, (RV) UNLV, Indiana, Northwestern
The club is home to several premier events including the 2015 U.S. Amateur. Olympia Fields has hosted two U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, five Western Opens and a U.S. Senior Open among other high-level tournaments. The club is also set to host the 2020 PGA TOUR FedEx Cup Playoffs

Last Time Out

Alabama captured an 8-5 victory over Army West Point to secure the Fifth Annual Bush Cup, hosted at Shoal Creek Club this past Tuesday. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the morning's alternate shot round. After breaking for lunch, UA collected a 5-4 record during the nine head-to-head matches to result in the final score.

Frankie Capan III and Thomas Ponder went unbeaten throughout the day to lead the Tide. The duo teamed up in the morning's alternate shot play and collected an impressive 6&5 victory to give UA the first points of the day. Ponder matched that performance with a 6&5 victory in match play, while Capan earned a 3&2 win in his head-to-head matchup. Together, the duo combined to score three of Alabama's eight total points on the day.
Freshman Simms Abney was the only other UA golfer to go unbeaten during the one-day event. Abney teamed up with Wilson Furr to collect a 1up victory in alternate play and went on to capture a 3&2 win in match play that same afternoon.

Next Up

Following the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational, the Crimson Tide will be back in action on Oct. 7-8 when it hosts the annual Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which will be played at Old Overton Country Club.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaMGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.