Alabama
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Canon Claycomb Leads Alabama on Day One of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
9/17/2021 6:30:00 PM | Men's Golf
Claycomb in a tie for third overall after firing a 1-under par 69 in Friday’s opening round
CHICAGO – Alabama's Canon Claycomb fired an opening round score of 1-under par 69 on Friday to lead the Crimson Tide men's golf team in the first round of the Olympia Fields CC/Fighting Illini Invitational. As a team, Alabama will enter Saturday's second round in eighth overall with a total of 9-over par 289.
Claycomb picked up right where he left off in last weekend's Maui Jim Intercollegiate. The Bowling Green, Ky., native fired a career-best round of 6-under par 64 in the final round of that event, only to follow with Friday's 1-under par score. He is in a tie for third overall, just a stroke back of co-leaders Drew Salyers of Indiana (68) and David Ford of North Carolina (68).
This year's OFCC Invite is being held 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 Highlights
- Claycomb collected his second round in the 60s this season and the seventh for his career
- It also marked his 18th career under par round, while it's the first time he has recorded back-to-back sub-70 rounds in his collegiate career
- Thomas Ponder, who opened the season by carding three consecutive rounds in the 60s at the Maui Jim Invitational, bogeyed two of his final three holes to settle for a 2-over par 72
- Ponder will enter the second round in a tie for 22nd overall
- Tyler Lipscomb is in a tie for 32nd at 3-over par 73, followed by JP Cave who is in a tie for 51st with a 75
- Jack Goldasich rounds out the Crimson Tide with a 79 to place in a tie for 79th after day one
The Field
- No. 2 Oklahoma State leads the 15-team field after firing a 1-over par 281
- The Cowboys hold a two-stroke lead over No. 4 North Carolina and Indiana, both carding a 283
- No. 3 Arizona State (285) is four strokes back
- There is a three-way tie for fifth between No. 5 Texas, No. 17 Florida and Purdue at 288, one stroke ahead of the Crimson Tide
- The 15-team field, led by defending national champion and top-ranked Pepperdine (293), features 13 teams ranked or receiving votes and features the top-five ranked teams in the nation
Next Round
- The Tide will tee off round two at 8 a.m. CT off Hole No. 1
- Paired alongside Alabama will be Florida and Florida State
- Live scoring throughout the three-day, 54-hole tournament can be found on Golfstat.com
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.
Players Mentioned
