April 18, 2008

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Top-ranked Alabama showed Friday what sets it apart. Down at 4-over par and in fourth place when it made the turn midway through the first round, the Crimson Tide men's golf team came back out on the back nine and ended up shooting 3-under for the round to slide into first place after 18 holes at the 2008 Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championships on the par 72 Frederica Golf Club Course in St. Simons Island, Ga..

"We did. We kind of turned it on, I thought" said Alabama head golf coach Jay Seawell whose team is gunning for what would be only Alabama's second SEC golf title and the school's first since 1979.

"The golf course was playing really difficult. We were just kind of hanging in there like everybody else on the front nine and then, `Bam.' There are a few more gentle holes on the back nine, so it is a little more score-able. But we played those score-able holes really, really well, so I was proud of them for that."

The tournament features a field of 12 teams, including six squads ranked among the nation's top 13. Alabama leads the field, shooting 3-under par 285, and has a five-shot lead against both Georgia and Florida, who are both 2-over par 290. Florida led for most of the day and turned at 2-under. LSU is in fourth (292), followed by Mississippi State (293), South Carolina (294), Tennessee (296), Ole Miss and Kentucky (298), Vanderbilt (300), Auburn (301) and Arkansas (308).

Alabama senior Joseph Sykora of Daphne is the first-round individual leader. Sykora, who has two collegiate victories in the past two years (including one to open the 2007-08 season at the Topy Cup in Japan in September), is at 4-under. Sykora shot 68 on the par 72 Frederica Golf Club Course in St. Simons Island, Ga. He holds a two-shot lead over two men, including his own teammate, Michael Thompson. Thompson shot 2-under, 70, and is tied for second with Ole Miss golfer Jesse Speirs. Alabama's Matt Hughes joins the Tide duo among the top 10 individuals. Hughes is T-8th at even par, 72. The Tide's Mark Harrell is 3-over, 75, and T-30th, and Matthew Swan is a shot back at 4-over, shooting 76 to place him among a T-39th.

"I thought Joseph played spectacular today. I didn't see a shot. I was walking with Matthew," said Seawell. "But it was nice to see when I walked up the 18th with Matthew. I'd heard the roar on 18. He made eagle on the last hole. He made about a 15 to 20 footer for eagle. I didn't see it, but I got to hear it. I heard the crowd. They roared, too. It was a great college golf moment. So I knew something was good. I thought it was for birdie. I was very proud of him. His turnaround on the back nine, it's kind of infectious even though nobody knows what each other is doing. He was the first to come in low and it just kind of turned and then everybody started doing it. So I was proud of him for getting things started for us low which will help us hopefully starting low tomorrow (Saturday), too."

The team turned at 4-over par and in fourth place after the first nine holes of play. Thompson turned at 2-under, Sykora at 1-over, Hughes at 2-over and Swan and Harrell at 3-over par. Helped by Sykora moving to 1-under after 12 holes with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, Alabama briefly took over the lead at 1-under with its golfers on holes 12 through 17.

On the back nine Sykora went from turning at 1-over to finishing at 4-under. He capped his round with an eagle on No. 18, a par 5, and birdied Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14. He made par on Nos. 10, 15 and 17 and had a bogey on No. 16. Thompson's back nine saw last week's Master's participant bogey No. 10 to go 1-under but he birdied No. 11, a par 3 and then made par on each of the remaining holes to come in at 2-under.

Harrell made par on all nine of his back nine holes. Swan double bogeyed No. 13 to go 5-over but then birdied No. 15, a par 5, and made par on seven on the back nine holes to finish 4-over for the round. Hughes bogeyed No. 14 but birdied Nos. 15, 17 and 18 and made par on the other five on the back.

"It's a tough course. It was tough to get the ball close to the hole today. You've got the greens rolling," said Seawell of Alabama's front nine, "and it picked up as the day went on. It was hard to get it close to the hole to make any birdies. We weren't nervous to start the day. This is just a hard course."

Tournament play resumes with the second round on Saturday. Sunday marks the third and final round of the 54-hole event hosted by the SEC.