Alabama
Mason Rudolph Championship
No. 9 Alabama Finishes in Third at the Mason Rudolph Championship
4/7/2024 6:31:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Crimson Tide improved seven spots up the leaderboard from round one to round three
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The No. 9 Alabama men's golf team finished in third overall – a seven-spot improvement from Friday's opening round – at the Mason Rudolph Championship, which was completed Sunday on the par 71, 7,112-yard Vanderbilt Legends South Course. The Crimson Tide finished the event with a team score of even par 852 (292-279-281) on the way to a third-place finish, the team's fifth top-three tournament result in nine events on the season.
Three UA golfers ended the event inside the top 20, led by Thomas Ponder's fifth-place result with three consecutive sub-par rounds to finish at 4-under par 209 (70-69-70). Both Jones Free and Canon Claycomb finished tied for 19th, with Claycomb's round of 3-under par 68 on Sunday leading the way.
The event was the Tide's final regular season tournament and the final regular season event for three senior golfers JP Cave, Claycomb and Ponder. The trio have combined for nearly 120 career tournaments and 350 total rounds played wearing the Crimson and White.
Head Coach Jay Seawell Comments
"This was the last regular season event. We set our schedule to test us for the postseason and now we are here. When you're playing on the golf course of one of the top teams in the country in Vanderbilt, you have to be really sharp. We didn't get off to a great start, but I am proud of how we bounced back from that to finish third. I feel like this week taught us a lesson we needed to learn and now we are off to postseason play.
"I am also very proud of my old guys – JP, Canon and Pondy – because that was their last regular season event. I appreciate all they've done and brought to Alabama golf throughout their careers. It was a bit of emotional moment when I got to hug their necks on the 18th green, but these guys are also built for the postseason, so we are a looking forward to that."
Individual Highlights
- Thomas Ponder collected his team-leading third top-five finish of the season
- Ponder has now recorded 16 par or better rounds, which is tied for the team lead, and six rounds in the 60s, second-best on the team
- Canon Claycomb's round of 68 Sunday was the fifth round in the 60s and is now tied with Ponder for the team lead with 16 rounds of par or better on the season
- Claycomb (75-72-68) and Jones Free (73-71-71) carded matching scores of 2-over par 215 and tied for 19th overall
- JP Cave tied for 31st with a 218 (74-67-77) while Jonathan Griz rounds out Alabama's starting five in 61st overall with a 226 (81-73-72)
- Austin Coggin and Luke Coyle each competed in the event as individuals with both ending the day inside the top-35 individuals
- Coyle finished with his best collegiate tournament result, placing tied for 27th overall with a 4-over 217 (72-70-75)
- Meanwhile, Coggin placed 33rd overall at 6-over 145 (71-74-74)
Team Highlights
- Alabama made the biggest jump up the leaderboard throughout the event, climbing seven spots from 10th place after round one to the third-place result
- No. 3 Vanderbilt (-30) dominated the tournament, winning the trophy by 18 strokes over No. 5 Ole Miss (-12)
- UNCW (+4) placed fourth with Middle Tennessee State (+10) rounded out the top five teams
Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaMGolf, on X, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama
Players Mentioned
